Lion Links: 11/28/25

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! Hopefully your Thanksgiving went smoothly and you were able to enjoy some good food and time with loved ones. All the sales and promotions over the next few days can make this time of year a bit more stressful than it should be, so don’t forget to stay hydrated and find time to relax here and there. Let’s get to the links!

USWNT Plays Italy in Orlando Tonight

We have soccer in the City Beautiful tonight, with the United States Women’s National Team hosting Italy at Inter&Co Stadium in a friendly at 7 p.m. Hopefully Orlando Pride fans will be able to see Emily Sams take the field for the U.S. in this one. Tonight’s match will be the 16th meeting between the two nations, although they haven’t played each other since the U.S. beat Italy 1-0 in November of 2010 to qualify for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The two will meet again in Fort Lauderdale on Monday in the USWNT’s final game of the year.

Assessing the USMNT Player Pool

The United States Men’s National Team has already played its final games of the year, making now a good time to see where the players stand in regards to their chances of making the World Cup roster. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman had a strong year for club and country and has carved out a role in Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s system. There’s an abundance of interesting players on the bubble of being called up who seemed like strong contenders at the start of the year. Yunus Musah, Johnny Cardoso, Brenden Aaronson, and Josh Sargent could all miss out on next year’s tournament, while Antonee Robinson’s inclusion will likely depend on if he can get healthy in time.

MLS Conference Finals Kick Off This Weekend

Only four teams remain in the MLS playoffs and we have some exciting matchups to look forward to as clubs look to claim a spot in the final on Dec. 6. I doubt anyone predicted the Western Conference final would be between the Vancouver Whitecaps and San Diego FC at the start of the year, but they’ve been excellent this year. San Diego has home-field advantage and its attack led by Anders Dreyer could capitalize on Vancouver being without Tristan Blackmon due to his red card against LAFC.

Inter Miami will be the favorite in its matchup against New York City FC. Lionel Messi is playing incredibly well and Miami’s defense has stepped up by only conceding three goals in four games this postseason. NYCFC’s defense has been lights out as well, only conceding once during the playoffs this year. The match may come down to how effective NYCFC can be on the counter.

Europa League Roundup

The latest round of matches in the Europa League’s league phase wrapped up and some of the tournament’s bigger clubs made their presence known. Roma did well in a crucial win at home, beating Midtjylland 2-1 to end the Danish club’s perfect run thus far. Nottingham Forest shut out Malmo 3-0 to win at home as well. Elsewhere across Europe, Peter Stanic had a hat trick to lift Ludogorets over Celta Vigo in a 3-2 win, Aston Villa won 2-1 against Young Boys, thanks to a brace by Donyell Malen, and Celtic beat Feyenoord 3-1 on the road to climb up the table.

Free Kicks

• Former Lion Rafael Santos had his contract option declined by the Colorado Rapids, although the club is in negotiations with him for a possible return. The Brazilian left back was traded to the Rapids in August and recorded a goal and three assists in seven games with Colorado.
• Toronto FC General Manager Jason Hernandez spoke on the advantage his club will have playing in cold weather once the changes to the MLS schedule go into effect.
• Portugal won the FIFA U-17 World Cup, beating Austria 1-0 in Qatar. Italy beat Brazil in the third-place game, meaning European nations took the top three spots in the tournament.
• As his trial for driving into a crowd of Liverpool fans began, Paul Doyle pleaded guilty to multiple counts against him, including three counts of wounding with intent. Over 100 people were injured in May when Doyle rammed his car into the crowd, and sentencing will take place during a hearing on Dec. 15 and 16.
• A deal was approved for an 80-acre site in Mesa, AZ to be given special tax treatment, with the anticipated development there including a multiuse stadium. It’s something to keep an eye on as Phoenix pursues MLS and women’s soccer teams.

That’s all I have for you all this time around. Enjoy your Friday and have an awesome weekend!