Lion Links: 9/10/25

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I’m in no way thinking things are fixed with the USMNT, but it was good to see a win last night. Now, I just need the rest of my teams to do the same — I’m looking at you, Orlando Pride. While we’re waiting for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches on Saturday and OCB on Sunday, we can enjoy today’s links.

Orlando Pride Bling Arriving Soon

It looks like the Orlando Pride will get some championship rings to go with the trophy already in the case. We will see what they look like later today. Hopefully, the rings will be a reminder of how to win and a motivator for the club to do better the remainder of this season. I’m all for the accolades, but if the story didn’t end, let’s hope the next chapter is better than it has been the last few matches.

USMNT Defeats Japan Dos a Cero in Columbus

The USMNT finally got a positive result, defeating Japan 2-0 in a friendly match. It was fair to say that Mauricio Pochettino’s seat was warming up prior to this match. I’m in no way saying that it’s cooled all the way down, but he and the team really needed this win. Orlando City’s Alex Freeman started, played well, and went the distance. Alex Zendejas got things started for the U.S. in the 30th minute.

Folarin Balogun added a second in the 64th minute to seal the victory.

Here’s hoping this is where things turn around for the team.

NWSL Transfer News

The North Carolina Courage have agreed to trade U.S. midfielder Jaedyn Shaw to NJ/NY Gotham FC for a $1.25 million transfer fee, which is the biggest intra-league deal in NWSL history. Meanwhile, Nealy Martin is leaving Gotham for Angel City. That deal is quite a bit less at $85,000.

World Cup Qualifying Roundup

The USMNT wasn’t the only team playing Tuesday. England thrashed Serbia 5-0 in Group K of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers. Harry Kane started things for the Three Lions with four others adding goals. South Africa drew Nigeria 1-1 in Group C of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) group stages. The result sees South Africa six points clear atop the group. France barely got by Iceland, winning 2-1 despite going a man down and having an equalizer disallowed.

Free Kicks

• The USMNT will play a World Cup tuneup match against Portugal in Atlanta next year.

• Nuno Espirito Santo is out at Nottingham Forest and a short 13 hours later, the club announced Ange Postecoglou as the new skipper.
• It won’t be easy to get them, but tickets for the 2026 World Cup are going to be available soon. You can enter a drawing today for a chance to get some tickets.
• Tom Bogert’s sources place the Ramiro Enrique deal at about $3.3 million. That’s a pretty good return on an investment.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for a busy weekend of soccer, with all three of Orlando’s teams in action. Vamos Orlando!