Lion Links
Lion Links: 7/22/25
Martin Ojeda earns weekly recognition, Lions at All-Star Week, U.S. World Cup roster predictions, and more.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! What a happy Tuesday it is too, as Orlando City got back to winning ways over the weekend after a string of frustrating results. There’s a ton going on right now with MLS All-Star events galore and Orlando City and Orlando City B both back in action on Friday. That means we’ve got a lot to discuss this morning, so let’s get after it.
Martin Ojeda Garners Weekly Honors
As seems to usually be the case lately, Martin Ojeda has been recognized for his efforts over the weekend with a place in the starting XI of the MLS Team of the Matchday. Ojeda powered Orlando City to a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution by scoring both of the team’s goals. That now gives him 12 goals and 10 assists for an extremely respectable 22 goal contributions in 24 games, which apparently still isn’t good enough for a place on the All-Star Team. Regardless of that snub, he’s a worthy inclusion in this week’s team, and we certainly hope he keeps up the good work!
OCSC Well Represented at All-Star Week
Despite Ojeda not being at All-Star Week, Orlando City as a club is heavily represented. In fact, the Lions are the only club to have representation from every level of the club’s structure. Youth players Dylan Judelson and Gustavo Caraballo participated in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game Monday night, with Caraballo’s golazo helping the East win 4-3 over the west. Check out the 16-year-old’s thunderous strike from distance.
Caraballo’s blast made it 2-1 at the time. The West came back twice, tying the match at 2-2 and 3-3, but a late penalty for a handball in the box allowed the East to claim the victory for Orlando City U-18 coach and academy director Javier Carrillo.
In addition to Carrillo and the academy kids helping the East win the MLS NEXT All-Star Game, Orlando City B’s Carlos Mercado is taking part in Goalie Wars, and Alex Freeman will be in the Skills Challenge and alongside Marco Pasalic in the All-Star Game. It’s great seeing every level of the club get a chance at the spotlight this week.
Predicting the U.S. World Cup Roster
With the 2026 World Cup less than a year away, the good folks over at Stars and Stripes FC took an early stab at predicting what the 26-man roster will look like for the United States Men’s National Team. We know it isn’t completely accurate because they didn’t project Alex Freeman to make the plane, but hey, no one’s perfect. Patrick Schulte gets the nod as the third goalkeeper along with Matt Freese and Matt Turner, while they believe Max Arfsten, Malik Tillman, and Diego Luna all did enough at the Gold Cup to secure spots. Gio Reyna is projected to make the cut, which might be generous considering how the last year has gone for him, but I really love the inclusion of Alex Zendejas, and hope he gets a chance under Mauricio Pochettino to show what he can do.
European Transfer Roundup
The summer transfer window is in full swing, and we need to catch up on which European teams are busy doing business ahead of the upcoming campaign. We start with Manchester United, which has completed the signing of Bryan Mbuemo from Brentford for a deal reportedly worth over $94 million. Liverpool is said to be putting a bow on a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, with a transfer fee that could reportedly rise to $106 million if potential add-ons are met. That’s good news for the Reds, because Luis Diaz is reportedly determined to leave the team this summer and is hoping that Bayern Munich will make a new offer for him after Liverpool rejected a bid last week. Moving to the continent, AC Milan has reportedly agreed to sign Pervis Estupinan from Brighton and Hove Albion, while Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly considering a move for Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa due to Gianluigi Donnarumma continually rejecting new deals.
Free Kicks
- The Orlando Pride’s Sept. 19 home match against the North Carolina Courage has been flexed to stream nationally, which means the kickoff time has been moved to 8 p.m.
- Orlando City held fast at no.11 in the MLS power rankings, and is at the same exact spot in ESPN.com’s version of the rankings.
- Marta has been vocal in her frustrations about the conditions the players are facing at this year’s Copa America.
That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!