Lion Links: 7/8/25

Good morning, everyone. Depending on your preference, I hope you either had a restful holiday weekend or an active and engaging one. We have an active and engaging week ahead of us in the soccer world, with the continuation of the Women’s European Championships and the Club World Cup, and Orlando City and Orlando City B in action at the weekend. That means we have a lot to cover this morning, so let’s get into the links.

Ramiro Enrique Earns Weekly Recognition

Ramiro Enrique played an important role in Orlando City’s 2-2 comeback draw against Charlotte FC over the weekend, and he’s been rewarded with a place on the bench in the MLS Team of the Matchday. Enrique bagged Orlando’s first goal of the evening just four minutes after the Lions went down by a second goal, and his strike helped keep the game from getting away from OCSC. He could have had an even better game if he’d not been denied a second goal due to a goal-line clearance. Still, it’s good to see him finding the back of the net, and here’s hoping he keeps doing so.

Club World Cup Semifinals Preview

The Club World Cup semifinals get started later today with Chelsea taking on Fluminense at 3 p.m. There are several storylines and battles to watch, with a big one being Fluminense’s Thiago Silva facing off against a Chelsea team with which he won the UEFA Champions League back in 2021. He’ll be tasked with shutting down Cole Palmer while teammate Hercules will do battle with Moises Caicedo in midfield. Wednesday’s match has Real Madrid taking on Paris Saint-Germain in a game littered with French stars on both sides. The big storyline here is Kylian Mbappe taking on his former PSG team, but the Madrid squad also features Frenchmen Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, and Ferland Mendy. It would take too long to list all of PSG’s French stars, but Ousmane Dembele is the biggest name to watch, although Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola are more than capable of making huge impacts on matches.

Post-Gold Cup Stock Watch

Now that the Gold Cup has concluded, we can better analyze which United States Men’s National Team players benefitted from the tournament, and which ones saw their stock drop. Two guys who got huge boosts as a result of their play during the competition are Chris Richards and Malik Tillman. Richards already had a great club season but displayed a level of poise and maturity this summer that will ease some concerns about the center back position. Tillman scored or assisted in all but two Gold Cup matches, and his performances combined with the year he had for PSV Eindhoven might just get him a move to Bayer Leverkusen. On the other hand, Matt Turner didn’t play a single minute during the tournament and almost certainly needs regular playing time if he wants to regain the starting role he had at the 2022 World Cup. Despite having a good year with Toulouse, Mark McKenzie was unable to unseat Tim Ream from partnering Richards at center back, and he’s running out of chances to make his case for a starting spot.

Women’s Euros Results

The Women’s European Championships continued on Monday, and fans were treated to a pair of extremely different games in Group B. In one, Portugal needed a last-minute equalizer to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw against Italy. That point gives Portugal a chance to advance to the quarterfinals if it beats Belgium in the final group match and Spain beats Italy, although it also needs to make up a significant gap in goal difference. In the other game, Spain punched its ticket to the knockout rounds in emphatic fashion by trouncing Belgium to the tune of a 6-2 scoreline. Alexia Putellas had a brace, and five different Spanish players found the back of the net as Spain scored four unanswered goals in the second half to cruise through to the next round.

Free Kicks

• The Orlando Pride have announced a series of summer events to help fill the women’s soccer void during the NWSL’s midseason pause.
• Orlando City held fast at no. 10 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• New York City FC is floating a giant pigeon down the Hudson River today, but a rotating Lion statue it is not.

• Inter Miami is reportedly in talks with Atletico Madrid to sign Rodrigo De Paul.
• Newcastle United has reportedly signed Anthony Elanga pending the completion of a medical.
• Wojciech Szczesny has signed a two-year contract extension with Barcelona, which may open the door for Marc-Andre ter Stegen to leave the club.

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