Orlando City
Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Again Fail to Score with a Manpower Advantage
The Lions come from behind to earn a point, but after being up a man for more than half an hour, it was a case of two dropped points.
Things looked good for Orlando City when Alex Freeman tied the match early in the second half against bottom-dwelling D.C. United at Audi Field. Lukas MacNaughton caught the fullback with a high boot as the ball crossed the goal line, and the defender was sent off, giving Orlando City (13-7-9, 48 points) a manpower advantage for the final 33 minutes of normal time plus stoppage time.
But from there, the Lions could not find a way to score a second goal against a D.C. team (5-15-10, 25 points) that has had one of the most porous defenses in the league. Orlando City has now gone five matches in all competitions without a win and dropped valuable points in a tight Eastern Conference battle for playoff positioning.
Jackson Hopkins scored the opening goal for D.C.
“We have reasons to feel frustrated tonight for not achieving the objective of winning the game and getting the three points, especially after we tied the game and had one more player,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the game. “But at the same time, I want to recognize that from the first minute, I thought Orlando dictated the tempo and the pace of the game and the majority of the options — many other plays that we could have scored. We have to polish in the last third again and be the team that we are when we create the options and the scoring. That’s what makes you win games.”
Pareja’s starting lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Freeman. Joran Gerbet joined Eduard Atuesta in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Duncan McGuire up top.
The Lions wasted no time getting their first shot on target, as a well-worked play off the opening kickoff saw McGuire head a long ball on for Freeman on the right. The fullback fired from a tight angle but Luis Barraza was well positioned to make the save just a dozen seconds after the game started.
Despite a lot of early possession and several chances, the Lions could not find the final ball, and even when they did get something on target, they could not beat the goalkeeper..
Ojeda smashed a shot on frame from the left in the fifth minute but Barraza fought it off for a corner kick. The Argentine then picked out Schlegel in the box on the corner but the defender’s free header was again fought off by Barraza.
McGuire got a free header on a cross from Pasalic in the seventh minute but he couldn’t get much power on it and Barraza made yet another early save.
Gallese finally saw a shot in the ninth minute and made the save on a shot from Gabriel Pirani at the top of the box.
Orlando kept coming. Freeman volleyed a cross toward goal from inside the box in the 16th minute, but he ended up hitting Pasalic in the back with his effort. Moments later, a free kick from the left side pinged dangerously around D.C.’s box but the hosts were able to clear and mount a bit of a counterattack, but Gallese smothered a loose pass at the other end.
Pasalic got an open look in the 22nd minuet, cutting inside from the right onto his left foot, but again Barraza was there, making a diving save. Seven minutes later, Freeman had an open look but sailed his shot high over the bar.
D.C. finally got a spell of possession after that, and as Orlando looked to go the other way, Pasalic appeared to get kicked in the foot, turning it over, but Chris Penso let play go on and Christian Benteke fired just wide of the right post in the 32nd minute.
As is usually the case with teams that don’t finish their chances, Orlando City conceded first. Conner Antley roasted Angulo down the flank and hit the brakes at the end line, watching the Colombian fly by out of control. With space, Antley picked out Hopkins in the box who had three Lions near him, but none of the three actually marking him, allowing an easy finish to make it 1-0 in the 33rd minute.
After the goal, D.C. played with much more confidence, while the Lions looked a bit rattled and disjointed. But neither side created much of anything until a free header from Ojeda in the 43rd minute was blocked out in front for a corner kick.
In first-half stoppage time, Schlegel got on the end of an Ojeda cross on a corner kick, but his shot was blocked in front. Angulo then had the final look at goal but he took a big windup and sent his shot well over the bar, wasting the opportunity.
Orlando City led in most statistical categories at the half, finishing with the edge in possession (51.3%-48.7%), shots (13-3), shots on target (5-2), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (91.8%-75.3%). Despite that, Barraza’s goalkeeping and Orlando’s lack of lethality had D.C. on top at the break.
The Lions won an early corner to start the second half. D.C. was able to clear, but the Lions recycled it into the box. Schlegel was still in the box from the set piece and had two runners in front, but his knock-down header was at Barraza instead of square across the top of the six, ending the threat.
Five minutes later, the Lions tied the game and were set up nicely to go on and claim all three points.
Atuesta picked out Pasalic running up the right channel. The Croatian smashed a ball from the right in the 53rd minute. Barraza did well to fight off the blast, but Freeman was there to head in the rebound.
Just a split second after sending the shot toward the net, MacNaughton’s studs caught Freeman in the side of the head and the fullback stayed down. Referee Chris Penso showed MacNaughton a yellow card initially, but went to the monitor for a second look. He rescinded the yellow and sent MacNaughton off with a straight red in the 57th minute.
“At the end of the day, I’m running and I’m trying to score,” Freeman said. “At that moment, I saw the ball and I just ran as fast as I could to it. I got a head onto it. Obviously when you get hit in the head, you don’t feel the best.”
It took almost 10 minutes for Orlando to get a shot attempt off after MacNaughton left the pitch. Once they finally adjusted, at first, the Lions rushed things. Ojeda and Pasalic each fired shots into the shinguards of the defenders in front of them in the 66th minute. Pasalic recovered and hit a shot off his own plant foot that popped up for an easy catch for Barraza.
The game should have been more open for Orlando with one fewer defender on the pitch, but the Lions, whether consciously or not, slowed down their pace of play and were deliberate in their buildups. There were holes for entry balls that never came, as Orlando seemed to look for the perfect play.
A transition chance opened up for Orlando in the 71st minute, but McGuire was offside before laying off a pass to Ojeda, who was nonchalant with his shot and saw Barraza save it anyway. The flag saved Orlando from another wasted opportunity.
The next shot didn’t come until the 75th minute, when Atuesta sent an impatient shot from extreme range right at Barraza. The chances started to come again just after that, but Orlando wasted them. Second-half sub Tyrese Spicer volleyed a shot from the left side that sliced wide of the right post in the 78th minute. One minute later, Pasalic sent a hard shot whistling just over the crossbar.
McGuire put the ball in the net in the 80th minute, but the ball had bounced up and hit his arm just prior to the shot, so the goal didn’t count. While defensive players can get away with incidental handballs when their arms are tucked in, the same is not true for attacking players, so it didn’t matter that the big striker’s arm was tight to his body and in a natural position.
In the final 10 minutes of normal time, all Orlando could muster was a badly hit left-footed shot by Spicer that was nowhere close to goal. There were eight minutes of injury time added, which grew to 10 due to a head injury on Matti Peltola, but the Lions did little with them. The best opportunity was a cross from Freeman on the right in the fifth extra minute that was just wide of the left post and a yard too far in front of two runners at the back post.
In the 10th added minute, the Lions got one final shot from Pasalic from well outside the box. Barraza had no trouble getting to it and did well to not allow a rebound. That was it, and Orlando had dropped two valuable points against a team that entered the game last in the Eastern Conference.
Orlando City dominated the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (57.1%-42.9%), shots (26-6), shots on target (11-3), corner kicks (5-1), and passing accuracy (90%-76.9%). However, once again, the Lions were done in by a lack of clinical finishing.
“For us, it’s just to be more calm,” Freeman said about the approach to playing against 10 men. “I feel like sometimes when you’re up a man, and it’s a tie game or we’re losing, it’s our trigger to go and just shoot or pass, or whatever we need. But I feel like in those situations, make them tired, be able to run them out, and then be able to attack. I feel like in those situations, sometimes we rush a little more than we have to. I think, as a team, obviously we wanted more.”
The Lions return home to host Nashville SC next Saturday.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions remain on the hunt for something good to happen on the road.
Welcome to your match thread for a Sunday night matchup between Orlando City (1-5-0, 3 points) and the Columbus Crew (1-3-2, 5 points) at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (7 p.m., Apple TV). This is the first of the two scheduled meetings between the two Eastern Conference rivals this season with the reverse fixture in Orlando scheduled for Oct. 10.
Here’s what you need to know about the match.
History
The Lions are 10-8-5 in the all-time, regular-season series and 3-5-2 on the road in MLS play. Orlando City is 11-9-5 overall against the Crew in all competitions, which includes a home loss in the playoffs and a home win in the U.S. Open Cup.
The last time these teams met was last Oct. 4 at Inter&Co Stadium. The Crew struck just past the half-hour mark through Andres Herrera, but Marco Pasalic slammed home the rebound of a Luis Muriel shot two minutes later. That was all the scoring in a wasteful 1-1 draw for Orlando. The first meeting of 2025 took place July 25 in Columbus, just prior to the Leagues Cup break. The Crew took the lead on Diego Rossi’s spot kick shortly after the hour mark on after Pasalic was called for a handball in the box. Ramiro Enrique struck 10 minutes later and again three minutes after that to turn the game around. Martin Ojeda added an insurance goal in stoppage time as the Lions won 3-1.
The two sides faced each other in Columbus on Sept. 21, 2024 in a wild back-and-forth game, with the Crew winning 4-3. Rossi, Christian Ramirez, and Cucho Hernandez staked Columbus to a comfortable 3-0 lead by the 71st minute, and the game seemed over. But Enrique’s goal three minutes after Hernandez scored sparked the Lions, who added a Muriel penalty goal to make it a match again. Miscommunication and a poor back pass from Felipe led to a turnover that allowed Aziel Jackson to score in transition, making it 4-2. Muriel scored late in stoppage time, but the Lions ran out of clock and couldn’t complete the comeback.
The teams opened the 2024 season series against each other on May 25. As has been the case with so many matches between Orlando and Columbus, there was controversy in the Crew’s 2-0 win in Orlando. The opening goal came in the second half on a penalty kick that was awarded upon video review following a penalty call at the other end of the pitch. Referee Jair Marrufo awarded the Lions a penalty for a foul on Steven Moreira against Muriel in the box late in the first half. Before Orlando could take the spot kick, Marrufo went to the monitor and ignored a blatant foul by Rossi in the buildup, ruling it a different attacking phase, despite the Lions never regaining clear control of the ball before the next attack, in which the referee ruled a routine shirt pull by Cesar Araujo — embellished significantly by Aidan Morris falling away from the direction of the tug — was clear-cut enough to wipe out the penalty seconds later at the other end. Rossi converted the penalty in first-half stoppage time, adding a second goal just past the hour mark.
The most meeting between the teams with the biggest stakes came in the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals on Nov. 25, 2023. The teams played scoreless through the 90 minutes plus injury time, with Orlando City defender Rodrigo Schlegel getting sent off late with a second yellow card. The Crew were able to bundle home a goal in extra time and add an insurance marker for a 2-0 win en route to an eventual MLS Cup championship. Ramirez and Hernandez scored for the Crew.
The teams played a memorable game at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 16, 2023, with Orlando coming from behind to snatch a stunning 4-3 victory at the death. Julian Gressel gave Columbus an early lead that held up through the first half. Ojeda equalized just after the restart, but Rossi and Hernandez staked the Crew to a two-goal lead. Facundo Torres pulled one back and Enrique bagged his first MLS brace, with a goal just a few minutes from the end of normal time and another late in stoppage.
The teams met in Columbus on May 13, 2023, playing to a 2-2 draw. Orlando City fell behind 2-0 by halftime on goals by Darlington Nagbe and Jacen Russell-Rowe, but Ercan Kara pulled one back just a few minutes after the restart, and Duncan McGuire leveled the game in stoppage time.
The sides met in Orlando on Decision Day 2022, with Orlando City erasing a 1-0 deficit on a Derrick Etienne Jr. goal to win 2-1 and clinch a playoff spot. Junior Urso leveled the game in the second half and Torres struck from the penalty spot late. The meeting in Columbus that year took place on April 16, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-0 on goals by Schlegel and Kara.
The 2021 season series concluded on Oct. 27 in Columbus with the Crew winning 3-2. Columbus had lost five straight to Orlando prior to Lucas Zelarayan’s one-goal, two-assist performance. Miguel Berry and Etienne also scored for the Crew. Daryl Dike pulled a goal back from the spot and Robin Jansson struck late, but it wasn’t enough.
The teams met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 4, 2021, with the Lions winning 3-2. Orlando built a 2-0 lead on goals by Dike and Silvester van der Water, but a bizarre own goal by Antonio Carlos threw the Crew a lifeline, and a Berry equalizer turned the game around. Urso provided the winner in the 69th minute.
City won the only meeting of the 2020 pandemic season when the 10-man Lions got a late Benji Michel goal to defeat the Crew 2-1 on Nov. 4. Chris Mueller gave Orlando the lead but Harrison Afful was able to equalize just moments after referee Ramy Touchan sent off Nani on a ludicrous call that was overturned by the MLS independent panel a few days later. Thanks to Michel’s goal, the officiating error didn’t end up costing the Lions, who clinched their first-ever MLS playoff spot with the win.
The Lions swept the season series in 2019, defeating the Crew 1-0 on July 13, 2019, and two weeks previously getting their first road win in the series, 2-0.
Orlando won 2-1 on Oct. 21, 2018 to start a five-game winning streak against the Crew on a pair of penalty kick goals. Yoshimar Yotún and Sacha Kljestan provided the spot kicks to offset Federico Higuain’s opening goal.
The last Crew win in the series prior to the Orlando winning streak was assisted by a horror call by Silviu Petrescu in the 88th minute on July 21, 2018, giving Columbus an equalizer from the penalty spot. Wil Trapp then scored the kind of goal in stoppage time that he’ll probably never score again to lift the Crew to a 3-2 victory in a game the Lions had stolen away from them on a call that Petrescu’s own organization said was an error.
Columbus got the better of Orlando in 2017, going 2-0-1. The Lions were 0-1-1 against Columbus in 2016 and 1-1-1 in the series in 2015, with a home U.S. Open Cup win that season against the Crew as well.
Overview
Orlando City enters tonight’s match not only looking for its first win (or point) away from home this season but also its first lead on the road. To achieve a lead, the club will need to score its first road goal of 2026. The season overall has been a horror show for the Lions, but that’s been especially true on the road, where they’ve gone 0-3-0 by a combined score of 16-0 and have fallen from perennial playoff team to punchline. Orlando has done virtually nothing well in 2026, falling to last in MLS in points (3), wins (1), goals conceded (23), and goal differential (-18). The offense hasn’t been good either, placing above only D.C. United with its five goals scored this season to United’s four to hover just above the MLS basement in that category as well.
Columbus enters tonight on the heels of its first win of the 2026 season, a 3-1 victory at Atlanta a week ago. Things finally came together for a Crew squad that is 0-1-1 at home this year as Wessam Abou Ali scored a brace and USMNT left back Max Arfsten added an insurance goal. The Lions will need to deal with Ali, who leads the Crew in goal contributions with five goals and an assist. Rossi, a perennial problem for Orlando City, has two goals on the season, while Arfsten has chipped in a goal and two assists.
For Orlando to get a result — or perhaps even to keep the game competitive for a change — the Lions will need to play organized defense from the midfield on back, which has been one of the biggest trouble spots for the team in 2026. Defenders will need to track Ali and whoever starts at right back must keep Arfsten in check, which is not easy, as he’s got the ability to take the ball to the end line and cross it in accurately or to fake wide, cut inside, and look for his own shot. At the other end, Orlando City will need to try to beat goalkeeper Patrick Schulte if it is going to break its long road goal drought.
“Columbus is a team that has been doing a really good job in this last period of time. I think they’re finding the performance they want right now, and it’s a team with players at a good level,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We’ll be there ready to compete, to fight, and to do what we know how to do with our plan and our ideas, and hopefully we can have the game we want.”
The Lions will be without Wilder Cartagena (thigh) and Joran Gerbet (knee), while Griffin Dorsey (lower back), Robin Jansson (foot), and Tyrese Spicer (thigh) are listed as questionable. Columbus will be without Mohamed Farsi (sports hernia).
Match Content
- The most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
- Our David Rohe provides his three keys to an Orlando City victory vs. Columbus.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.
Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Iago, Griffin Dorsey.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Eduard Atuesta, Braian Ojeda, Marco Pasalic.
Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Tiago.
Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Colin Guske, Luis Otavio, Yutaro Tsukada, Justin Ellis, Tyrese Spicer.
Columbus Crew (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Patrick Schulte.
Defenders: Malte Amundsen, Sean Zawadski, Rudy Camacho, Steven Moreira.
Midfielders: Max Arfsten, Dylan Chambost, Andre Gomes, Andres Herrera.
Forwards: Diego Rossi, Wessam Abou Ali.
Bench: Nicholas Hagen, Cesar Ruvalcaba, Amar Sejdic, Taha Habroune, Hugo Picard, Sekou Bangoura, Daniel Gazdag, Jamal Thiare, Nariman Akhundzada.
Referees
REF: Ricardo Montero Araya.
AR1: Andrew Bigelow.
AR2: Tyler Wyrostek.
4TH: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Ismir Pekmic.
AVAR: Tom Felice.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Scotts Miracle-Gro Field — Columbus, OH.
TV/Streaming: Apple TV.
Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).
Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.
Enjoy the match. Go City!
Orlando City
Poor Starts Hurting Orlando City
The Lions have been shaky in the first 10 minutes out of the locker room, and the results speak for themselves.
There are no two ways about it, 2026 has been an extremely rough season for Orlando City. The Lions are 1-5-0 after six games, and are only spared from the indignity of being the worst team in the league by the winless Philadelphia Union. As it is, OCSC has only scored five times in those six games while giving up a staggering 23 goals. The goal differential of -18 is eight worse than the next closest team, with CF Montreal sitting on -10.
Clearly, giving up goals in general is a big issue for this team, but let’s dig slightly deeper than that. Orlando has given up three goals inside the first 10 minutes of play on three separate occasions, and the Lions went on to lose each of those games.
That statistic speaks to a team that’s been starting games poorly, and that’s certainly backed up by the eye test. In the season opener against the New York Red Bulls, it took just seven minutes for the visitors to score, and it might have been even faster if not for a good save by Maxime Crepeau in the fifth minute. Poor marking and positioning were at least partly to blame in both cases, as the Lions simply didn’t look like they were playing at the same speed as their opponents. While the loss of Wilder Cartagena to injury didn’t help matters, being behind so early in the game put Orlando on the back foot for the rest of the half. OCSC finished the first 45 with two shots and one on target, while the Red Bulls took 13, put seven on frame, and scored another goal to make it 2-0 at the break. The Lions had a much better second half but ultimately couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole they helped create.
Against Nashville SC, Crepeau’s goal was breached five minutes into the game. This time it wasn’t the defense to blame but the goalkeeper himself, as he was caught out at his near post by a Cristian Espinoza shot that had no business going in when considering the place on the field where it was taken. Espinoza’s effort was well struck and hit with power, but it was a shocking goal to concede, especially so early in the game.
In Saturday’s loss to LAFC, it took seven minutes for Orlando to go behind. The culprit this time was David Brekalo, as he made a mess of a pretty ordinary cross into the box and, rather than clearing it, his touch took the ball beyond Crepeau for an own goal. The play looked to be extremely ordinary as it was developing, yet the Lions once again found themselves in an early hole.
If we want to go even deeper then we can look at the first 10 minutes of second halves as well, where Orlando has given up four goals. One came in the 49th minute against Miami and cut Orlando’s lead in half; two came against New York City FC in the 49th and 54th minutes and made the score 4-0 and then 5-0; and one came against Nashville in the 55th minute to make it 3-0. While its troubling to give up an early goal in the first half, there’s an argument that doing so right after halftime is even worse. The team has just had 15 minutes to talk over things that needed to change from the opening period, refocus, and prepare to put any tactical changes into place. That makes it especially frustrating to come out after halftime and see all that planning and preparation have been for nothing.
In the NYCFC game you can make the argument that the team was already down 3-0 and playing with 10 men, so there isn’t much to be learned from anything that happened after Maxime Crepeau’s red card. That isn’t the case for the other two games though, as the Lions had a lead against Miami and were only two goals down against Nashville. The coaching change didn’t do anything to fix the issue either, as four of the early goals came while Oscar Pareja was in charge, and three have been scored with Martin Perelman in command.
In total, seven of the 23 goals that Orlando has conceded have been scored within the first 10 minutes of the start of a half. For whatever reason, the team seems to struggle with coming out with focus and intensity to start halves, and that’s a huge problem for a team that has work to do in order to get its season back on track. Whether something needs to change in the team’s pregame and halftime preparations or it’s simply something that needs to be worked through with brute force, the Lions can’t afford to keep getting punched in the mouth early. This team needs points, and it needs to come out of the locker room more focused and intense if it’s going to get them. Vamos Orlando.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/10/26
Orlando City players up for World Cup spots, Edward Wilding named OCB head coach, Inter&Co Stadium will host international friendly, and more.
Happy Friday! Apart from working and reading, I’ve been spending most of the week trying to bake a birthday cake for the first time, and it’s much harder than I expected. Practice makes perfect though, and my apartment has been smelling better than ever as a result. Hopefully practice is just as helpful for Orlando City this week so that the Lions can stop free falling. Fingers crossed!
Orlando City World Cup Hopefuls to Watch For
Sunday night’s match between Orlando City and the Columbus Crew is a clash between two struggling Eastern Conference teams, but it’s also a chance for many players to prove they should play at the World Cup this summer. While goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau is likely to make Canada’s roster regardless, conceding an absurd amount of goals this season isn’t helping his case to start over Dayne St. Clair, but a strong performance could help turn that around. Similar things can be said about defensive midfielder Braian Ojeda, who is in the running to make Paraguay’s roster after it qualified for its first World Cup since 2010. Croatian winger Marco Pasalic started and had an assist for his country in March but only has a goal and an assist so far this season with the Lions.
Edward Wilding Named Orlando City B Head Coach
Orlando City B announced that Edward Wilding will be the team’s new head coach, making him the youngest active head coach in MLS NEXT Pro. Wilding is an internal hire who is familiar with the club’s youth system, recently serving as the head coach of the academy’s U-18 team. He replaces Manuel Goldberg, who became an assistant coach with the senior team following Oscar Pareja’s departure. For Goldberg, it may mean he’s out of a job if Martin Perelman doesn’t get the head coach gig full time with the MLS squad. OCB is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference standings after four games and its next game will be Saturday on the road against Chattanooga FC.
Inter&Co Stadium Will Host International Friendly
England will play a pair of friendlies in Florida in preparation for the World Cup and Inter&Co Stadium is set to host the team’s match against Costa Rica on June 10. It’s nice to see some international soccer coming to Inter&Co Stadium, considering last month’s friendlies featuring Brazil, Croatia, and Colombia were held at Camping World Stadium. The match in Orlando will take place a few days after England plays New Zealand over in my neck of the woods at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on June 6.
Analyzing Japan Ahead of USWNT Friendlies
The United States Women’s National Team will play Japan Saturday in the first of three April friendlies. It should be an exciting series, as the USWNT won the SheBelieves Cup while Japan won the AFC Asian Cup title in convincing fashion last month. Japan only conceded one goal over the course of the tournament, and Manchester City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita won’t make things easy for the USWNT. As for the attack, midfielders Yui Hasegawa and Manaka Matsukubo can create plenty of chances for themselves and others. It will be interesting to see who can make an impact up top between Utah Royals forward Tanaka Mina and West Ham’s Riko Ueki during these matches as well.
Free Kicks
- FC Cincinnati is reportedly in preliminary talks with Brazilian forward Neymar. Part of me wants this to happen just to know what he thinks of Cincinnati-style chili. [Managing Editor’s note: It’s fricken delicious!]
- Ollie Watkins had a brace in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Bologna in the first leg of its Europa League quarterfinal. Elsewhere, Freiburg beat Celta Vigo, while Porto and Nottingham Forest played to a 1-1 draw.
- FIFA announced the 52 referees who will officiate World Cup matches this summer and the list includes two women, Tori Penso and Katia Garcia. A record total of 170 match officials were selected for the tournament, which makes sense considering the expanded field.
- Enjoy this dive into the analytical side of the United States Men’s National Team’s World Cup preparations.
- Left back Andy Robertson announced that he will leave Liverpool following this season after nine years with the club.
- CAF President Patrice Motsepe stated that he welcomes an investigation into corruption in the confederation following scrutiny over the decision to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend. Go Orlando!
Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Poor Starts Hurting Orlando City
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