Lion Links: 7/15/25

Good morning, everyone. I write to you all from the great state of South Carolina, as I continue my summer of frequent and widespread traveling. We have a lot to talk through this morning, so let’s wish a happy birthday to Orlando City B’s Tristan Himes and get into today’s links!

Lions Earn Weekly Recognition

A pair of Orlando City players have earned some recognition for their contributions during the Lions’ 1-1 draw with CF Montreal on Saturday. First up is Martin Ojeda, who garnered a nomination for the MLS Goal of the Matchday for this pinpoint, low free kick he scored which gave Orlando a lead in the first half.

We also can’t forget about Alex Freeman, who got a shoutout as a well-performing young player due to another solid performance at right back. Here’s hoping both men keep up the good work!

USMNT Announces October Friendlies

The United States Men’s National Team has announced that it will play friendlies against Ecuador and Australia during the October international window. The USMNT will face Ecuador on Oct. 10 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX, before playing Australia at Dick’s Sporting Good Park in Commerce City, CO. Both opponents are ranked in the top 25 in the world, and have already secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The games are exactly the sort of contests that the U.S. should be scheduling in the buildup to the tournament, and it’ll be interesting to see the performances of whatever roster Mauricio Pochettino chooses to deploy.

Women’s Euro Talking Points

The group stage of the women’s European Championship has come to an end, and there are plenty of things to talk about while we wait for the knockout stages to start later this week. Teams like Italy and Sweden have exceeded the expectations that many people had for them ahead of the tournament starting, while others like the Netherlands and Denmark had poor showings compared to what was expected of them. Alexia Putellas has unsurprisingly shone, and the quarterfinal matchup between France and Germany is the one that many people will have circled on their calendars.

Club World Cup Takeaways

Now that the Club World Cup has come to a conclusion, what did we learn from the tournament? For one, the quality of play was mostly good, as teams certainly took the competition seriously. Lessons need to be learned when it comes to pricing tickets appropriately and not kicking games off in the middle of the day during the heat of summer, but if the right adjustments are made, it could grow into a really fun competition to look forward to. Brazilian fans were one of the highlights of the tournament, while extremely low attendance numbers for some games were more of a blemish. Overall, the tournament is probably a net positive, but there are absolutely things that can and must be improved upon if it’s going to continue in this form.

Free Kicks

• Martin Ojeda has now gone seven straight matches with a goal contribution, which is a new club record!

• Orlando City dropped one spot to no. 11 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• Newcastle United is close to completing a $93.3 million move for Hugo Ekitike.
• Real Madrid has signed left back Alvaro Carreras from Benfica.
• Luka Modric has signed a one-year deal with AC Milan.

That does it for me this morning. Vamos Orlando!