Lion Links: 3/31/26

Good morning, everyone. It was a fairly quiet weekend with just one of Orlando’s soccer teams in action, but things pick up in a big way this week. The United States Men’s National Team is back in action today, the Orlando Pride host Angel City FC on Friday, and Orlando City travels to face LAFC on Saturday. We’ve got plenty to talk through today, so let’s get into the links.

Scouting Portugal

The United States Men’s National Team will play its final match of the March FIFA window when it takes on Portugal in Atlanta tonight. Roberto Martinez has coached the side for a little over three years now, and despite having a few players unavailable with injury, he’s still been able to name a very strong squad. He typically lines the team up in a 4-3-3, utilizes a high press, and seeks to get large numbers around the box and take advantage of overloads. The USMNT will need to contend with a midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, and Ruben Neves, while Pedro Neto and Nuno Mendes have the ability to create plenty of danger in wide areas. With that being the case, whoever gets the start at right back will need to have a much more effective outing than Tim Weah did on Saturday, as a lot of the danger that Belgium created came from Jérémy Doku out on the left wing.

World Cup Playoff Preview

Only six spots are still up for grabs at this summer’s World Cup, and each one of those spots will be claimed by the end of today. Four teams will qualify through the UEFA playoffs and the remaining two spots will come from the intercontinental playoffs. For the UEFA side of things, Kosovo shocked Slovakia with a 4-3 win in the semifinal, and now hosts a favored Turkiye side in Pristina. Viktor Gyokeres scored all three of Sweden’s goals in its 3-1 win over Ukraine, and it will now host Poland and Robert Lewandowski. In the intercontinental playoffs, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be favored in its matchup against Jamaica, while Iraq has faced some travel difficulties in the leadup to its match against Bolivia. Both of those matches will take place in Mexico.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

The summer transfer window will be upon us before we know it, and that means there are some rumors that we need to catch up on. Up first is a confirmed piece of news, as Bayern Munich has announced that left back Raphael Guerreiro’s time with the team will come to a close this summer when his contract ends. Bayern sporting director Max Eberl also stated that the team has not made an offer to sign Mohamed Salah, who will leave Liverpool at the end of this season. Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are both said to be interested in signing center back Waldemar Anton from Borussia Dortmund. Finally, Joao Cancelo is currently on loan with Barcelona from Al Hilal, and the Spanish side reportedly wants him to terminate the remainder of his contract with the Saudi team so he can then join the Catalan club on a free transfer in the summer.

Tottenham Wants De Zerbi Immediately

Tottenham is reportedly pushing hard for Roberto De Zerbi to immediately take over as the team’s new manager. Spurs moved on from Igor Tudor on Sunday after he won just one of the seven games he coached, and the London side is now seeking its third manager of the season. De Zerbi is said to have indicated that he was open to taking the job at the end of the season — providing that Tottenham isn’t relegated. That may prove easier said than done, with Spurs just one point above the drop zone, but the team’s dire situation is exactly why it wants De Zerbi in the door sooner rather than later. If Spurs can’t land the Italian, other names linked with the job include Adi Hutter, Harry Redknapp, Tim Sherwood, and Glenn Hoddle.

Free Kicks

• Mauricio Pochettino has said that he is considering tweaking the USMNT’s tactics to help get Christian Pulisic back into his best form.
• Sporting Kansas City has signed left back Zorhan Bassong to a contract extension.
• A French court has dismissed Welsh club Cardiff’s compensation claim from Nantes in relation to the death of Emiliano Sala.

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!