Lion Links
Lion Links: 10/22/25
Orlando City kicks off the postseason at Chicago, Marco Pasalic gets attention, Orlando Pride call-ups, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Well, it’s match day as Orlando City travels to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference wild card match. The Lions will need to find their early season form if another deep playoff run is to happen. You can check out our thoughts on the match on The Mane Land PawedCast. For now, let’s get to the links.
Orlando City’s Must-Win Match
Orlando City needs to defeat the Chicago Fire tonight to advance to the best-of-three first round of the MLS playoffs. It is the Eastern Conference wild card match, meaning it is a win-or-go-home scenario. There are plenty of storylines heading into this match, but the last time the teams met, Chicago defeated the Lions 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium. It will be a tough match and the MLS experts aren’t giving Orlando City much of a chance. Hopefully, the Lions can prove them wrong.
Pasalic Draws Interest from German Clubs
Orlando City attacker Marco Pasalic is getting some attention from teams in the Bundesliga, including Borussia Mönchengladbach. The left-footed forward joined the Lions in the off-season prior to the 2025 MLS campaign, but his 12 goals and five assists are enough to pique some interest. If a team offers up enough money for Orlando City’s front office to part with the Croatian Designated Player, it wouldn’t be until after the current season is over. Depending on how much is on the table, it might be worth it for Orlando City to sell Pasalic on, make a profit, and free up a DP spot.
More Pride Players Called Up
The international call-ups for the Orlando Pride kept on coming Tuesday, with Jacquie Ovalle getting the call from Mexico and Angelina from Brazil, as expected. The pair join Emily Sams, Anna Moorhouse, Grace Chanda, and Zara Chavoshi as Pride players who will represent their countries in this women’s international break. These call-ups were deserved, and it wasn’t hard for us to predict them on this week’s episode of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride Podcast.
Orlando City Getting Bang for the Buck
As disappointed I am with parts of Orlando City’s season — rightfully so, mind you — there’s no denying that when compared to other clubs the Lions have done quite a bit given the money spent. Our friends over at Hudson River Blue put together some data on how well each MLS club did points-wise compared to total amount spent on salaries. Orlando City did pretty well, though we still have to see how it translates to success in the postseason.
Free Kicks
- NWSL Decision Day is coming up on Nov. 2 and there’s still plenty up for grabs for many of the teams. The Orlando Pride can secure a home playoff match with the right results.
- If you haven’t paid for the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, fear not. As long as you have an Apple TV+ subscription you will be able to watch all the playoff matches.
- The USMNT’s Ricardo Pepi and Sergino Dest played for PSV as the club defeated Napoli 6-2 at home. Pepi scored a goal and added an assist for his club. Dest subbed in off the bench late.
- The USWNT plays Portugal in a friendly Thursday night. Here is everything you need to know about the match.
- La Liga called off plans for the regular-season match between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami this December. Players have protested holding league matches outside of Spain.
That will do it for today. Check back for our coverage of Orlando City’s match. Vamos Orlando!