Lion Links: 5/1/26

Welcome to May, Mane Landers! April flew by in the blink of an eye for me and I’m hoping May goes a little slower so that I can enjoy being outside before the Florida heat really sets in. Then again, I can’t wait until the World Cup arrives in June. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Orlando City Will Host Atlanta United in U.S. Open Cup

The draw for the rest of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is complete and Orlando City is set to host Atlanta United in the quarterfinals on either May 19 or 20. That match will take place just a few days after the two rivals square off in Orlando in league play on May 16. Hopefully the Lions can get the job done against an Atlanta side that has also struggled this season.

Should the Lions advance to the semifinals, they’ll go on the road to face the winner between the Columbus Crew and New York City FC. Whichever team wins that semifinal would have hosting rights in the final. On the other side of the bracket, the Houston Dynamo will play St. Louis City while the Colorado Rapids will host the San Jose Earthquakes.

Lions Prepare for Tropic Thunder Match

Orlando City will play against Inter Miami on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in the first Tropic Thunder match at Nu Stadium. It’s already the second meeting between the two rivals this season, with Orlando falling 4-2 at home to Miami on March 1. Hopefully having Robin Jansson available this time around will help keep Miami’s offense in check, although the Lions are still struggling to reach full health. Although Orlando has yet to win a road game in MLS play this season, Miami has yet to win at home, so we’ll see if either trend comes to an end or if a draw is in store for us on Saturday.

Orlando Pride Host Washington Spirit Saturday

The Orlando Pride will also be in action on Saturday when they play the Washington Spirit at 4 p.m. at Inter&Co Stadium. The Spirit are coming off of a 1-0 win at home against Racing Louisville on Wednesday, while the Pride haven’t played since losing 3-2 on the road to Louisville last Friday. While I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call these two teams rivals, they’ve played some notable games against each other in recent years and it should be a great game. Head Coach Seb Hines and midfielder Summer Yates both spoke on the matchup against one of the league’s top teams.

Las Vegas Group Bids On Vancouver Whitecaps

An investor group by Grant Gustavson made an offer to buy the Vancouver Whitecaps and move the team to Las Vegas. Gustavson, who is the grandson of the founder of Public Storage, is a Vegas resident and the offer includes a plan to build a stadium. The club has been up for sale since December of 2024 and the club released a statement on Monday that there has not been a viable offer that would keep the team in Vancouver despite talks with over 100 interested parties. Any offer would need to be accepted by the owners and approved by the MLS Board of Governors. Hopefully a better solution than moving the team to the middle of the desert presents itself.

Free Kicks

• The Pride remained in fifth in the CBS Sports’NWSL power rankings following the midweek matches. The Portland Thorns moved into first place after beating the San Diego Wave 2-0, while the Kansas City Current continue to drop like a stone.
• San Jose forward Timo Werner was named MLS Player of the Month after recording four goals and three assists in April.
• The United States Men’s National Team’s 26-player roster for the World Cup will be revealed on May 26.
• The vote next March to determine FIFA’s president will be hosted in Morocco, with Gianni Infantino expected to be re-elected for a final four-year term.
• English midfielder Kobbie Mainoo signed a five-year contract with Manchester United.
• Ipswich Town defender Ashley Young announced that he will retire at the end of the season after a career that included playing for Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Aston Villa.
• A crisis involving passports and dual nationality could result in a nightmare for the Eredivisie in the Netherlands due to ineligible players. The story is an illuminating dive into just how complicated the legal side of soccer can get.

That’s all I have for you all this time around. I hope you have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend. Save the Caps!