Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been staying busy at work throughout the week, covering high school water polo and lacrosse. Let’s wish a happy belated birthday to Orlando City midfielder Luis Otavio, who turned 19 Sunday. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Draws Columbus Crew on the Road

Orlando City drew the Columbus Crew 1-1 on the road Sunday at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. Marco Pasalic scored the first goal on the road for the Lions early in the first half. In the second half, Orlando City had chances to extend its lead, and goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made some clutch saves. However, Diego Rossi broke through Orlando’s back line and scored the equalizer for Columbus late in the game. In stoppage time, the Crew had a chance to score a late winner, but despite being outshot 19-5, the Lions held on to secure their first point on the road this season. Orlando City will be on the road to face FC Naples Wednesday in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup and return home to take on the Houston Dynamo Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium.

OCB Falls to Chattanooga FC

Orlando City B fell 3-1 to Chattanooga FC at Finley Stadium Saturday and saw its three-match unbeaten streak snapped. Chattanooga took a 1-0 lead in the first half. In the second half, Damien Barker John scored twice to put Chattanooga ahead 3-0. Harvey Sarajian pulled one back for the Young Lions, but it was not enough. OCB’s next match will be at home against Carolina Core Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

Pride Players on International Duty

Multiple Pride players were in action over the weekend for their national teams during the international break. Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda came off the bench in the second half, but Zambia fell 4-0 to Canada in a friendly. Midfielder Angelina came off the bench in the second half as Brazil defeated South Korea 5-1 in a friendly. Zambia will face Brazil Tuesday. Forward Solai Washington was on the bench as Jamaica beat Antigua and Barbuda 4-0 in a 2026 Concacaf Women’s Championship qualifier match. Ally Lemos and Simone Jackson started, while forward Seven Castain was on the bench as the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team secured a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Spain. Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse and England will face Spain Tuesday in a UEFA World Cup qualifying match.

USWNT Defeats Japan in Friendly

The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Japan 2-1 Saturday at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA. Rose Lavelle scored the opening goal in the first half to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Lindsey Heaps added another goal to extend the USWNT lead 2-0, and Lavelle added an assist. Japan pulled one back, but the Americans held on to secure a 10-match winning streak for the first time since 2023. The USWNT will face Japan again Tuesday at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Americans Abroad

Let’s catch up on Americans in action abroad in Europe. Chris Richards played a full 90 minutes as Crystal Palace defeated Newcastle United 2-1. Christian Pulisic played 73 minutes, but his goal drought for club and country continues at 16 matches as AC Milan fell 3-0 to Udinese. Folarin Balogun scored for AS Monaco, but his side fell 4-1 to Paris FC. Haji Wright played 67 minutes for EFL Championship leaders Coventry City in a scoreless draw against Sheffield Wednesday. Today, Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United will face Manchester United.

Free Kicks

• Union Berlin has named Marie-Louise Eta interim manager for the rest of the season. She becomes the first woman appointed to take charge of a men’s first team in the Bundesliga.
• Tottenham Hotspur extended its winless streak to 14 league matches in manager Roberto De Zerbi’s debut in a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland Sunday and remains in the relegation zone.
• Former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere secured his piece of silverware in his first season as manager as Luton Town defeated Stockport 3-1 to win the EFL Trophy.
• CF Montreal announced Sunday that the club has parted ways with Head Coach Marco Donadel after just one win in seven matches.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

Happy Friday! Apart from working and reading, I’ve been spending most of the week trying to bake a birthday cake for the first time, and it’s much harder than I expected. Practice makes perfect though, and my apartment has been smelling better than ever as a result. Hopefully practice is just as helpful for Orlando City this week so that the Lions can stop free falling. Fingers crossed!

Orlando City World Cup Hopefuls to Watch For

Sunday night’s match between Orlando City and the Columbus Crew is a clash between two struggling Eastern Conference teams, but it’s also a chance for many players to prove they should play at the World Cup this summer. While goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau is likely to make Canada’s roster regardless, conceding an absurd amount of goals this season isn’t helping his case to start over Dayne St. Clair, but a strong performance could help turn that around. Similar things can be said about defensive midfielder Braian Ojeda, who is in the running to make Paraguay’s roster after it qualified for its first World Cup since 2010. Croatian winger Marco Pasalic started and had an assist for his country in March but only has a goal and an assist so far this season with the Lions.

Edward Wilding Named Orlando City B Head Coach

Orlando City B announced that Edward Wilding will be the team’s new head coach, making him the youngest active head coach in MLS NEXT Pro. Wilding is an internal hire who is familiar with the club’s youth system, recently serving as the head coach of the academy’s U-18 team. He replaces Manuel Goldberg, who became an assistant coach with the senior team following Oscar Pareja’s departure. For Goldberg, it may mean he’s out of a job if Martin Perelman doesn’t get the head coach gig full time with the MLS squad. OCB is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference standings after four games and its next game will be Saturday on the road against Chattanooga FC.

Inter&Co Stadium Will Host International Friendly

England will play a pair of friendlies in Florida in preparation for the World Cup and Inter&Co Stadium is set to host the team’s match against Costa Rica on June 10. It’s nice to see some international soccer coming to Inter&Co Stadium, considering last month’s friendlies featuring Brazil, Croatia, and Colombia were held at Camping World Stadium. The match in Orlando will take place a few days after England plays New Zealand over in my neck of the woods at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on June 6.

Analyzing Japan Ahead of USWNT Friendlies

The United States Women’s National Team will play Japan Saturday in the first of three April friendlies. It should be an exciting series, as the USWNT won the SheBelieves Cup while Japan won the AFC Asian Cup title in convincing fashion last month. Japan only conceded one goal over the course of the tournament, and Manchester City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita won’t make things easy for the USWNT. As for the attack, midfielders Yui Hasegawa and Manaka Matsukubo can create plenty of chances for themselves and others. It will be interesting to see who can make an impact up top between Utah Royals forward Tanaka Mina and West Ham’s Riko Ueki during these matches as well.

Free Kicks

• FC Cincinnati is reportedly in preliminary talks with Brazilian forward Neymar. Part of me wants this to happen just to know what he thinks of Cincinnati-style chili. [Managing Editor’s note: It’s fricken delicious!]

• Ollie Watkins had a brace in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Bologna in the first leg of its Europa League quarterfinal. Elsewhere, Freiburg beat Celta Vigo, while Porto and Nottingham Forest played to a 1-1 draw.
• FIFA announced the 52 referees who will officiate World Cup matches this summer and the list includes two women, Tori Penso and Katia Garcia. A record total of 170 match officials were selected for the tournament, which makes sense considering the expanded field.
• Enjoy this dive into the analytical side of the United States Men’s National Team’s World Cup preparations.
• Left back Andy Robertson announced that he will leave Liverpool following this season after nine years with the club.
• CAF President Patrice Motsepe stated that he welcomes an investigation into corruption in the confederation following scrutiny over the decision to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend. Go Orlando!

How’s it going, Mane Landers? It’s been a bit of a hectic week for me, but I’m hoping things settle down a bit as we edge closer to the weekend. There’s plenty of soccer ahead of us to get excited about, and an Orlando City game too. Let’s go ahead and jump right into today’s links!

Orlando City Prepares For the Columbus Crew

Orlando City will be on the road on Sunday for an Eastern Conference showdown against the Columbus Crew. The Lions haven’t scored a goal since a 2-1 win at home over CF Montreal on March 14, losing their past two games in embarrassing fashion. The Crew have been having a slow start to the season as well but are coming off of their only win of the season, a 3-1 victory in Atlanta. Orlando and Columbus both have U.S. Open Cup games next week, but Orlando forward Duncan McGuire spoke on how the team is focused entirely on this upcoming road match.

Orlando Pride Players on International Duty

Multiple Pride players are spending the international break abroad with their respective teams. Forward Seven Castain was called up for the U-23 U.S. Women’s National Team’s roster for a trio of friendlies in Spain, joining Pride teammates Ally Lemos and Simone Jackson.

Brazil also has three friendlies lined up and Angelina was called up for those matches against South Korea, Zambia, and Canada. Forward Solai Washington will be with Jamaica for Concacaf W Championship qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda and Guyana. Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse will be in Europe for England’s World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Iceland as well.

Anthony Martial Linked With Orlando City

It’s not much more than a rumor at this point, but Orlando City is one of three MLS clubs reportedly interested in French forward Anthony Martial. The 30-year-old has been with Monterrey in Liga MX since joining the club last September.

Now that Antoine Griezmann has been signed, Orlando no longer has an open Designated Player and it would take some serious roster magic to bring Martial to the City Beautiful anytime soon. LAFC and the New England Revolution were noted as the other two MLS teams reportedly interested.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

The first legs of this year’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinals wrapped up this week and Atletico Madrid came up with a huge 2-0 win on the road against Barcelona. Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth did the scoring and it was Head Coach Diego Simeone’s first time winning at Camp Nou. Griezmann started in the match and Simeone spoke prior to the match about his gratitude towards Griezmann as their time together winds down.

Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia both scored in Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 win over Liverpool in Paris. Liverpool only managed three shots over the course of the game, failing to put any of them on target. PSG failed to widen the gap despite controlling the match though, so we’ll see if that comes back to bite the club next week at Anfield.

Free Kicks

• Real Salt Lake Zavier Gozo won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his volleyed strike that put a cherry on his team’s 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City. It was an audacious effort from the 19-year-old, who has two goals and three assists this season.
• FC Naples defender Julian Cisneros was named to the Team of the Round after the second round of the U.S. Open Cup. The Lions will face Naples on the road Wednesday in Orlando’s first match of this year’s tournament.
• Here’s a nice breakdown of how the MLS players fighting for a spot on the United States Men’s National Team roster stack up.
• Nike is aware of the bulge at the shoulder seam of its national team kits, explaining the computing behind the design. For some teams it’s not too noticeable, but it does make other teams look like supervillains.
• Leicester City lost its appeal of a six-point deduction for breaking spending rules. The club remains in the relegation zone of the EFL Championship table with five matches remaining.

That’s all I have for you all this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!