How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this Thursday finds you well as we get ready for Orlando City to kick things off in the playoffs this weekend. There’s also plenty of international women’s soccer to enjoy over the next few days. Let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world!

USWNT Takes On Iceland Tonight

In its first match since winning gold at the Olympics in Paris this summer, the United States Women’s National Team will take on Iceland tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Q2 Stadium in Austin. Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams may make her first appearance for the USWNT tonight and she’s one of six uncapped players called up by Head Coach Emma Hayes. The USWNT will be without some notable players from its Olympic roster, including Croix Bethune, Trinity Rodman, and Crystal Dunn. This will be the 16th meeting between the two nations and the first since the USWNT beat Iceland 5-0 in the 2022 SheBelieves Cup. The U.S will play Iceland again on Sunday before a friendly against Argentina on Wednesday.

MLS Reportedly Considering Calendar Changes

A major overhaul could be coming in MLS. According to The Athletic ($), the league is reportedly considering flipping its season’s schedule so that it runs from fall to spring. This would reflect the schedules in Europe, with breaks during the winter and summer. As a result, the thinking is that MLS teams would be able to be a bit more proactive in the summer transfer window. It would also move the playoffs to a time of the year where it doesn’t have to compete with football. The biggest question mark to the plan in my opinion would be how matches can be expected to be played in the north during the winter. It’s still early days in planning though, and MLS Executive Vice President of Sporting Product and Competition Nelson Rodriguez spoke on how the league is exploring the idea.

“We have been engaged, really, since January, and it’s been very extensive and exhaustive and deliberate,” Rodriguez said. “It’s still too early. We’re still asking questions. We’re still collecting and analyzing some data. We’re still formulating models. Some of those models are for formats themselves, some of those models are how to assess the information that we get.”

The Chicago Red Stars Rebrand

In a decision that feels odd to announce right before the playoffs, the Chicago Red Stars have rebranded themselves as just Chicago Stars FC. Despite the name change, the red star is still the center of the team’s new crest but is now on a soccer ball. While I do like how the new crest’s shape reflects the iconic marquees of the Chicago Theater and Wrigley Field, it’s a fairly lukewarm redesign. It also doesn’t scream Chicago to me, and feels more like a logo for a team in D.C. or New York. The most brilliant part of this decision was to announce it right after the BOS Nation FC debacle.

Nick Cushing Linked With Arsenal Women’s Coaching Job

New York City FC Head Coach Nick Cushing is reportedly Arsenal’s primary target for the head coaching job with the women’s soccer team. Jonas Eidevall stepped down as Arsenal’s manager with two years left on his contract, with Renee Slegers now serving as the interim coach. Cushing has a wealth of experience coaching women’s soccer in England, helping Manchester City win the Women’s Super League title in 2016 and the FA Cup in 2017. He currently has NYCFC gearing up for a playoff series against FC Cincinnati after finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference. Arsenal’s coaching job is lucrative, but it will be interesting to see if Cushing chooses to stay with City Football Group after nearly 20 years there.

Champions League Roundup

The third round of matches in the Champions League wrapped up and I’m still trying to get used to the new format. The matchups feel a bit sporadic to me and I feel like this year’s tournament will lack tension until the final couple of weeks. This week’s heavyweight match was between Barcelona and Bayern, with Raphinha netting a hat trick and Robert Lewandowski scoring against his former club in a 4-1 win for Barcelona. Liverpool won 1-0 over RB Leipzig to stay perfect so far, Manchester City cruised to a 5-0 win against Sparta Prague, and Inter Milan needed a late equalizer from Marcus Thuram to claim a 1-0 victory against Young Boys. Benfica was notably upset at home in a 3-1 loss to Feyenoord as well.

Free Kicks

• The Philadelphia Union signed 20-year-old midfielder Quinn Sullivan to a contract extension through 2027 with an option for 2028. The American was eighth in this year’s 22 Under 22 list and helped the U.S. reach the quarterfinals of last year’s U-20 World Cup.
• Haji Wright, Cade Cowell, and Auston Trusty were a few of the Americans playing abroad who stood out this week.
• Over 200 Penarol supporters were detained after altercations with law enforcement ahead of the team’s Copa Libertadores semifinal against Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro.
• Madrid and Baku are the two teams in the running to host the 2027 Champions League final after Milan was stripped of hosting last month. If Baku is chosen, it will be the first time Azerbaijan has hosted a Champions League final.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Thursday and rest of your week!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! You’ve made it to the middle of the week, and everything is all downhill from here. We’ve got a bit of time before Orlando City returns to action, and it’ll be even longer before the Orlando Pride take the field again. But with the MLS Cup playoffs already underway, the UEFA Champions League returning, and the rest of the soccer world continuing on as usual, we have more than enough to talk about today. Let’s get into the links.

MLS Wild Card Round Starts

The first of two MLS wild card games took place on Tuesday evening, with Atlanta United going on the road and taking down CF Montreal on penalty kicks. The hosts clawed back from a two-goal deficit and pressed hard for a late winner but ultimately couldn’t find one. Brad Guzan then saved Tom Pearce’s penalty, Atlanta converted all five of its spot kicks, and that was enough to send the Five Stripes through to the next round against Inter Miami. At 10:30 p.m. today, attention turns to the Western Conference, when the Vancouver Whitecaps will face the Portland Timbers. The two sides played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 28, but Portland got the better of the Whitecaps back on June 22 in a 2-0 win that saw Vancouver play most of the second half with 10 men. The winner of tonight’s match earns a trip to play LAFC on Sunday.

Citi Field Will Host NYCFC

We got confirmation on Tuesday that New York City FC will play its first-round home game against FC Cincinnati at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. NYCFC has been splitting time this year between that venue, Yankee Stadium, and even Red Bull Arena on occasion, and with both the Mets and New York Yankees making deep postseason runs, and the New York Red Bulls in the playoffs themselves, it was anyone’s guess as to where the match would be played. The Mets’ elimination solved that issue, although between this instance and Vancouver being unable to host its match against Portland, despite finishing above the Timbers, due to a supercross race, venue selection during the MLS postseason has had a much bigger spotlight on it than it should.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

The UEFA Champions League was back in action on Tuesday, and there’s plenty to catch up on. Of chief interest to American fans, Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Club Brugge with an Olimpico. The goalkeeper probably should have done better, but a goal is a goal, and it continued Pulisic’s hot start to the season.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid produced five second-half goals to complete a 5-2 comeback win against Borussia Dortmund, Monaco scored the same amount to beat Red Star Belgrade 5-1, and Aston Villa beat Bologna 2-0 to make it three wins from three and go top of the table.

U-17 U.S. Women Win Handily

The U-17 USWNT continued its campaign in the U-17 Women’s World Cup on Tuesday by cruising past South Korea 5-0. The baby Yanks got off to a hot start, with Melanie Barcenas opening up the scoring just a minute into the game. Kennedy Fuller doubled the advantage in the 10th minute, and Barcenas then got her brace just two minutes after the halftime restart. Mary Angela Long got in on the action with just over 20 minutes to play, before Maddie Abrianna Padelski rounded off the scoring late. The U.S will face Nigera in the quarterfinals, after the African nation finished top of Group A while exhibiting some impressive offensive firepower in the process.

Free Kicks

• Gonazlo Rodriguez has been named Orlando City’s director of health and performance.
• The United States Women’s National Team will face Iceland in a friendly tomorrow, so make sure you’re up to speed on the opposition.
• Chris Richards likely won’t make his return from injury until mid-November.
• Nobody wants to find themselves holding the wooden spoon at the end of the MLS season, but how the “trophy” came to be is an interesting story.
• Former USWNT star Carli Lloyd has given birth to her first child.

That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

Happy Tuesday, everyone. It was a rough weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as all three sides came up short. Still, the only way out is up, and life goes on. That means that, as usual, we have plenty of things to talk over this morning, so let’s get into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Playoff Game Date Announced

There’s still one more game left to play in the NWSL regular season, but the Orlando Pride know when their quarterfinal matchup will take place. The Pride will host a quarterfinal match on Friday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m against whichever team finishes eighth in the standings. As things currently stand, it would mean a matchup against Bay FC, although the Portland Thorns or Chicago Red Stars could each realistically drop into that spot. The Pride are undefeated against both Bay and Chicago this year, and have beaten Portland once, but also had the team’s undefeated streak ended by the Thorns two games ago.

Pedro Gallese Nominated for Save of the Year

Despite perhaps not hitting his usual heights, Pedro Gallese has still had a pretty good year between the sticks for Orlando City, and he’s been nominated for the Save of the Year to boot. The stop in question came during Orlando’s fifth match of the year on the road against Atlanta United. With OCSC trailing 1-0 on the stroke of halftime, the hosts whipped in a corner which Stian Gregersen met with a strong header down into the ground. Not only did El Pulpo claw it off the line, but he also managed to make a fantastic double save when Xande Silva sent the rebound back towards the goal. Make sure you take the time to vote for Gallese to win!

San Diego FC Announces Two 2025 Matches

San Diego FC will join MLS next season as the league’s newest franchise, and we now know who the team’s first two opponents will be. The expansion side gets an unenviable start to life in the league, as it will play its first game of the 2025 season on the road against the LA Galaxy on either Feb. 22 or 23. It will then play its first ever home match on March 1 against St. Louis City SC at Snapdragon Stadium in a battle of MLS’s two most recent expansion sides. San Diego will likely hope to emulate St. Louis City’s first season in the league, but probably won’t want a repeat of what the team did in 2024. The full league schedule is set to be announced in December, so we have to wait a while before seeing what the schedule holds for Orlando City.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

The transfer rumor mill never stops churning out new stories, and there are certainly some interesting items to examine today. First up is the report from Calciomercato that Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee is open to leaving the club during the January window, despite having only signed in July. Then, there’s Juventus needing to make a statement that it was hacked on Monday following a fake announcement that was made on its social media that the club had signed Arda Guler from Real Madrid. Virgil van Dijk has confirmed that he’s begun talks regarding signing a new deal with Liverpool, but also stressed that he does not know if he’ll remain at the club next season. Finally, Bayer Leverkusen is reportedly worried about head coach Xabi Alonso leaving the club for a bigger challenge, with Manchester City and Real Madrid both said to be interested.

Free Kicks

• Following two straight losses, the Orlando Pride slipped one place to second in ESPN‘s NWSL power rankings.
• The same outlet has Orlando City ranked eighth out of the 18 playoff teams in the MLS postseason field.
• Neymar has made his first appearance in over a year after tearing his ACL while playing for Al Hilal.
• A number of women’s soccer players have urged FIFA to end its partnership with Saudi Aramco, a Saudi Arabian oil and gas company.
• La Liga is reportedly pushing hard to hold a league match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in Miami.

That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!