Happy Friday, Mane Landers! It’s been a hectic week, but we’ve thankfully reached the tail end of it and there’s plenty of Orlando soccer awaiting us tomorrow. Beyond working and keeping every finger crossed for Orlando’s teams on Saturday, I plan on catching up on the new season of Ted Lasso. But for now, let’s get to the links!

Tahir Reid-Brown Traded to St. Louis City

Orlando City traded defender Tahir Reid-Brown to St. Louis City in exchange for $150,000 in 2027 General Allocation Money, with another $300,000 in GAM heading Orlando’s way if conditions are met. The 20-year-old climbed the ranks of Orlando’s academy over the years and was signed as the club’s 15th Homegrown Player in January of 2024. Bernardo Rhein’s rise to the first team limited Reid-Brown’s playing time, so hopefully he’ll be able to get more minutes and continue to improve in St. Louis.

Orlando City Reveals New Third Kit

Orlando City unveiled its new “Orlando Original” kit, which is the club’s first third kit since joining MLS. The design is a nice mix of elements from Orlando’s USL days and the city’s hosting of 1994 FIFA World Cup games, while paying tribute to the original Orlando Lions. I didn’t expect it to be quite as red as it is, but I like it, along with the soccer ball pattern that mirrors the match ball from that World Cup. The logo is a bit odd and the sponsor being on the lower back of the kit even odder, but I’m excited to see what it looks like when the Lions wear them on Saturday. Speaking of which…

Orlando City Hosts FC Cincinnati on Saturday

The Lions are back in action on Saturday with a home game against FC Cincinnati in one of the more enticing MLS matchups this weekend. Both teams have conceded goals like a sieve this season, setting up a potential shootout given the talented attacking players expected to take the field. Antoine Griezmann has improved the Lions since joining this summer and hopefully forwards like Marco Pasalic, Justin Ellis, and Daryl Dike can step up and give Orlando an edge against a Cincinnati offense that boasts Evander, Kevin Denkey, and Pavel Bucha.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

The Houston Dynamo are reportedly set to transfer Ezequiel Ponce to Elche in La Liga. Houston signed Ponce for a club-record transfer fee in 2024 and he led Houston with 10 goals last season. However, he has yet to score this season despite starting in 17 games. His departure should open the door even wider for former Lion Duncan McGuire to make an impact.

Elsewhere in the league, the New England Revolution bolstered their defense by adding Tylon Smith on loan from Queens Park Rangers, LAFC signed 23-year-old forward Armando Sieb from Bayern Munich, and midfielder Aziel Jackson is already back in MLS on loan with Minnesota United from Jagiellonia Bialystok. Rangers reportedly made a $10 million bid for Portland Timbers forward Kevin Kelsy, who has scored nine goals so far this season.

Free Kicks

• Former Orlando Pride forward Simone Charley was signed by Brooklyn FC and then immediately transferred to the Chicago Stars.
• The Pride dropped a spot to 11th in All For XI‘s NWSL power rankings following their 3-1 loss to Racing Louisville.
• Nigeria will miss out on the 2027 Women’s World Cup after a 2-1 loss to South Africa.
• Former Pride player Kaylyn Kyle announced that she is leaving Apple TV’s MLS coverage after spending the past four years as a host and analyst.
• Belgian winger Jeremy Doku signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City.
• The La Liga season kicks off this season, but Celta Vigo’s match against Osasuna has been postponed due to a fungus outbreak on its field.

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

How’s it going, Mane Landers? All three of Orlando’s soccer teams are in action on Saturday and I’m not sure if I’m excited or dreading it considering how they’ve been playing lately. Hopefully it’s a day to remember positively. But for now, let’s jump right into today’s links!

Orlando City Squanders Lead in Leagues Cup Draw

Orlando City drew 2-2 against Atletico de San Luis and won the penalty shootout afterwards 5-3 in its final game of this year’s Leagues Cup. With a mainly rotated lineup, the Lions managed to take a two-goal lead and generated great chances for more. However, San Luis responded with a pair of goals of its own, including an equalizer deep in stoppage time. Javier Otero may not have maintained a clean sheet, but he did come up with a huge save to help Orlando win the shootout. The Lions were officially eliminated from the tournament, but the younger players were able to get some minutes while some of the starters got rest before Saturday’s match against FC Cincinnati.

Orlando Pride Sign Sanne Lekven

The Orlando Pride signed Norwegian forward Sanne Lekven to a deal through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029. The 25-year-old had five goals in 10 appearances for Aalesunds FK in Norway’s top flight and will now join an Orlando team in desperate need of offensive help. She’s one of three attacking players signed by the Pride this summer alongside Zoe Matthews and Gabi Nunes, so hopefully she can make an impact in the NWSL.

Chicago Stars Fire Martin Sjogren

The Chicago Stars are last in the NWSL standings and have fired Martin Sjogren as their head coach. The Stars are winless in their past five games, only scoring once during that stretch, so it’s not too surprising to see them make a coaching change. Karina Baez, who has been an assistant coach for Chicago for the past three seasons, will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2026 season. Former Chicago head coach Lorne Donaldson is also returning to the club as its “interim director of coaching.”

MLS Transfer News Roundup

The Colorado Rapids transferred center back Lucas Herrington to Hull City for a club-recorded fee reported to be up to $23 million. The 18-year-old joined the Rapids last year from Brisbane Roar FC for a fee under $1 million and went on to become an All-Star this year, so it’s a nice bit of business by the Rapids to say the least. Hull City has been on quite the spending spree this summer, although FC Cincinnati reportedly rejected its offer for forward Kevin Denkey.

In other news, the Vancouver Whitecaps signed Serbian midfielder Aleksa Cvetkovic as an MLS U22 Initiative player, the New York Red Bulls transferred Swedish midfielder Gustav Berggren to Lech Poznań in Poland’s top flight, and the Columbus Crew are reportedly signing forward Josef Martinez.

Free Kicks

• Tottenham has reportedly begun talks with Monaco over a move for American forward Folarin Balogun for nearly $70 million.
• Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 2-1 to win the UEFA Super Cup for the second year in a row.
• Spanish soccer legend Xavi Hernandez was hired as the Netherlands’ head coach. The Netherlands were eliminated in the round of 32 of this summer’s World Cup and Xavi will be the team’s first foreign head coach in nearly 50 years.
• Sisters Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga combined for three goals in Malawi’s 3-1 win over Algeria to advance to Sunday’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final against Cameroon.
• Turkish club Fenerbahce signed Romelu Lukaku from Napoli for a reported $7 million transfer fee.

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

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s Leagues Cup match day, and I’m sure you’re as excited as I am, right? Right?!? Despite it being a money grab of a tournament in which the Lions are unlikely to advance, it is at least an opportunity to watch the team we support, and as such, I will be watching. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Hosts San Luis to Close First Leagues Cup Phase

Orlando City faces Atlético de San Luis tonight at Inter.co Stadium in the team’s third Leagues Cup match. If the Lions are to advance, the team will need to win the match and get some help from other teams in the tournament if they are to advance. As I said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I hope Orlando City smartly focuses on the upcoming regular-season match against FC Cincinnati. Sadly, I believe that won’t be the case, so you can expect the team to play a mixture of starters and subs.

Pride Proceed to Portland’s Providence Park

The Orlando Pride travel across the country to take on the Portland Thorns Saturday evening. The Pride are coming off a 3-1 loss to Racing Louisville, and let’s just say that the metrics were not good. As if bad form and traveling across the nation were not enough, the Thorns will be holding a celebration for former Portland and USWNT defender Meghan Klingenberg prior to the match. I don’t think the Thorns needed any extra motivation, but there it is.

Orlando City B Defeated…Again

Orlando City B continued its slide down the MLS NEXT Pro table after losing 3-0 to New York City FC II. With so many Young Lions covering for injuries with the first team, OCB Head Coach Eddie Wilding made five changes to the starting lineup. There were also four academy players who made their professional debuts. NYCFC II scored two goals in the the first 13 minutes and added a third in the second half. OCB will face Chicago Fire FC II on the road Saturday.

NWSL Accolades

If you didn’t watch other NWSL matches after being demoralized by how the Pride played Friday, I won’t blame you. That being said, there were matches played and things happened in those matches. I believe that Kerry Abello should have been up for Goal of the Week, but alas she wasn’t and instead the honor went to Ashley Sanchez from the North Carolina Courage. Don’t get me wrong it was a good goal, but Abello’s shot was better.

Anna Moorhouse was never in the discussion for Save of the Week. Instead it was won by Portland’s Mackenzie Arnold.

Arnold also won Assist of the Week on Pietra Tordin’s second goal.

Finally, Tordin won Player of the Week for her hat trick against Boston Legacy FC. She gets to face the Pride’s defense and Moorhouse on Saturday night.

Free Kicks

• Olivia Moultrie is out for the season due to an ACL injury. This is not just a blow to the Portland Thorns but to the USWNT as well.
• St. Louis City transferred Marcel Hartel to 2. Bundesliga side Hannover 96. The midfielder’s departure opens a Designated Player spot for St. Louis.
• CF Montreal signed Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player through the 2027 MLS sprint season.

• Not everyone thinks that Gianni Infantino is horribly corrupt and should resign. Any guesses as to who I’m referring to?

That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for match updates and we will also have a recap of the match. Vamos Orlando!