Lion Links: 3/19/26

How’s it going, Mane Landers? It’s been a bit of a hectic week for me, but there has at least been plenty of soccer to enjoy as of late. Even more is ahead of us over the next few days too, with three consecutive days of Orlando soccer to feast on. For now though, let’s dive into today’s links!

Getting Ready For Orlando City’s Match Against Nashville

Orlando City will take on Nashville SC on Saturday in one of the more enticing matchups across the league this weekend according to MLSsoccer.com. After losing their first three games of the season, the Lions beat CF Montreal 2-1 in their first match after Oscar Pareja’s departure as head coach. Nashville is a different beast than Montreal though, as the club is undefeated across its first four matches and has a lethal attack featuring Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge, and Cristian Espinoza. The Lions have conceded the most goals in the league so far, so it may come down to if Orlando’s attack can keep pace.

Orlando Pride Aim to Bounce Back

The Orlando Pride’s 2026 season got off to a rough start due to a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Reign, but they’ll have a chance to right the ship when they host the Denver Summit on Friday. The expansion team also suffered a 2-1 loss in its season opener, losing to Bay FC after being reduced to 10 players in the first half. Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how the team is preparing for the expansion club, as well as the importance of getting a result after failing to do so on Sunday.

Houston Dash Players Reportedly Headed to Denver

The Houston Dash are reportedly transferring forward Yazmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan to the Denver Summit for an undisclosed fee. Both players joined the Dash from Gotham FC before the 2025 season and started in most of the Dash’s games last year. Ryan posted four goals and three assists last season and it’s a bit surprising that the Dash are transferring her after trading $400,000 in Allocation Money for her not too long ago.

UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals Are Set

Only eight teams remain in this year’s UEFA Champions League after a round of 16 that featured quite a few lopsided results. Barcelona put Newcastle to the sword in a 7-2 win, with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski both scoring braces to secure the club’s spot in the next round. After losing in the first leg, Liverpool powered through to the next round by beating Galatasaray 4-0. Bayern Munich cruised to a 4-1 win over Atalanta, while Atletico Madrid still advanced despite losing 3-2 to Tottenham.

The quarterfinals feature some exciting matchups, with Real Madrid taking on Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain playing against Liverpool. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will face each other once again, and Arsenal will square off against Sporting CP.

Free Kicks

• They may sound like someone is on the other side of the camera with a gun, but Orlando City karaoke wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I’d probably buy an album of Robin Jansson doing covers.

• Sporting Kansas City bolstered its defense by signing Brazilian center back Diego Borges from Zalaegerszeg TE in Hungary as an MLS U22 Initiative player.
• Nashville eliminated Inter Miami from the Concacaf Champions Cup after a 1-1 draw, advancing due to the away goal rule.
• In the Women’s Asian Cup, Japan beat South Korea 4-1 to set up a final against Australia this weekend.
• The Senegalese government has called for an investigation into CAF’s decision to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco.
• Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali exited Newcastle’s loss due to injury, casting doubt on his chance to play in Italy’s World Cup qualifier later this month.
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be a broadcast analyst for this summer’s World Cup. It should be entertaining at the very least.

That’s all I have for you all this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!