Lion Links: 10/9/24

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I made the trip down to Inter&Co Stadium to see the Orlando Pride win the 2024 NWSL Shield over the weekend. I know it was raining — fortunately, I remembered my rain jacket — but if you weren’t there, you really missed an amazing night. You can read about it in our recap, but seeing the team raise that shield was unforgettable. Hopefully, it won’t be the only hardware the Pride raise this year. Let’s get to the links.

Red Hot Lions

Orlando City has won 10 of its last 13 matches to climb into position to potentially begin the playoffs with home-field advantage. The run of good form has the Lions sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The latest 3-1 victory over FC Cincinnati moved the team from eighth to sixth in the MLS Power Rankings, and up to fifth in the Goal.com Power Rankings. Orlando City’s last match of the season will be at home against Atlanta United on October 19.

Pride’s Success No Accident

Marta had a great match Sunday and more than earned her moment in the sun when she lifted the NWSL Shield. Of course, none of that happens if the people working behind the scenes aren’t doing everything possible to help the Pride in this incredible turnaround. The players will likely tell you that the club’s success is in part thanks to the organization that has been built.

Of course, not every women’s club gets the amount of support that the Orlando Pride receive. Many clubs do not have the infrastructure from staff to facilities to truly grow the women’s game. It’s an issue for many clubs in various leagues across the world. Coaches end up having to pick up the slack, and that isn’t sustainable. While I’m grateful that the Wilf family and Haley Carter are providing the necessary tools for the Pride to succeed, I would like to see other organizations step up as well.

OCB to Face Chicago Fire II in Playoffs

Orlando City B will square off against Chicago Fire II away from home to start the playoffs. OCB finished the MLS NEXT Pro regular season in fifth place — which isn’t too bad when you look back a few weeks. Unfortunately for OCB, the top four clubs get to choose their first-round opponent in the playoffs (well, the top three do…the fourth-place club doesn’t really have a choice). It’s one of the weird things that MLS NEXT Pro does. No one above the fourth-place Chicago Fire II opted to play the Young Lions. The match between the Young Lions and Chicago Fire II will take place Sunday, Oct. 20, at 3 p.m.

USMNT Ready for Poche

The Mauricio Pochettino era for the USMNT kicks off Saturday with a friendly against Panama at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX. Three days later, the new U.S. boss will face rival Mexico in Guadalajara. Big-name players like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are on the roster. One player who won’t be there is the injured Folarin Balogun. That might open a window of opportunity for Josh Sargent to make a splash with the new coach. Sargent’s more rounded style of play is something that forwards have demonstrated under Pochettino at the club level. A friendly is exactly the sort of place for Sargent to show his stuff.

Free Kicks

• Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta announced his retirement from professional football. He is ending his exceptional 24-year career with Emirates Club in the United Arab Emirates.
• Never fear, Chicago Fire supporters. Gregg Berhalter is on his way to take over the reins of your struggling club.

• FIFA gave Como’s Marco Curto a 10-match ban due to making a discriminatory remark aimed at Wolverhampton’s South Korean forward, Hee Chan Hwang.
• I know soccer is popular, but I also tend to not believe Manchester City when talking numbers, so take this viewership claim with a grain of salt.
• Trinity Rodman might wish she hadn’t hurt her back so that the Washington Spirit might have had a better chance at stopping the Orlando Pride from winning the NWSL Shield, but then again it might not have made a difference. I guess we’ll never know.
• It turns out that the Angel City salary cap violation was revealed by a former player. There were side agreements to pay players outside of what was disclosed to the league.
• Finally, the Orlando Pride have teamed up with Heart of Florida United Way to provide hurricane resources as Milton approaches.

That will do it for today. Check back this week as we get you ready for the Pride’s upcoming match in Portland. Most importantly, stay safe as this hurricane makes its way towards Florida. Vamos Orlando!