The opening match of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup kicks off one week from today, when Mexico hosts South Africa at Estadio Azteca Mexico City Stadium (thanks FIFA, for your silly stadium-naming policy). Like most soccer fans, I am excited for wall-to-wall games starting next week, but I will definitely also be missing the men and women in purple as Orlando City and the Orlando Pride will not play again until early July (Pride) and late July (Orlando City).

MLS NEXT Pro channeled its inner Red Hot Chili Peppers and said they “can’t stop, they’re addicted to the shindig” and will continue to play a normal weekly schedule throughout the World Cup, so thankfully we will still have the Young Lions to root for during this break. But aside from that, it will be all international soccer for the upcoming weeks, and primarily in North America.

With that in mind, I took a deeper look at the beautiful game on our beautiful continent and evaluated which cities in North America are having the best soccer-related 2026 so far. There are no actual rankings for this, so I created my own, using the following components:

• I awarded a half point to the city of every team in Liga MX, Liga MX Femenil, Major League Soccer (MLS), NWSL, and the Northern Super League (Canada’s top domestic women’s league). This covers the highest levels of club competition on the continent. I did not include the Canadian Premier League (men’s, ranked 159th among men’s leagues by Opta) or the Gainbridge Super League (women’s, ranked 35th among women’s leagues), because even though those are considered leagues at the highest level of competition in their countries, they do not compare to the five leagues I included. Also, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver all have teams in MLS.
• I awarded a full point to every city that is hosting World Cup games. This is a little sticky because some stadiums and/or teams represent metropolitan areas as opposed to the actual zip/area code location for the team or stadium, but I did some rounding. I had to put my mathematics degree to good use.
• I averaged the points earned per match per team in that city, and awarded that total number of points to the city. Orlando, for example, received 1.18 points in this category, as Orlando City is averaging 0.93 (this was disappointing to type) and the Pride are averaging 1.42.
• I awarded a point to the city of each quarterfinalist in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup and U.S. Open Cup, and a subsequent point for each win by those teams.
• I awarded a point to the city of each semifinalist in the 2026 Concacaf W Champions Cup (this tournament went straight to the semifinals after the group stage), and a subsequent point for each win by those teams, excluding the third-place game.

After I awarded all those points, I rested for a minute, and then I summed up all the points for each city to see which cities are having the best 2026 so far (there are 47 North American cities/metro areas with at least one team in the leagues I included).

As this is an Orlando-focused publication, let’s take a look at the City Beautiful and how we fared. There are two professional teams in Orlando that count, so a half point for Orlando City plus a half point for the Pride accounted for one total point. With how well OCB has been playing (fourth in the Eastern Conference and winners of three of its last four games), I wish I could have included MLS NEXT Pro teams in the points system, but including that league did not make sense.

OCB would have helped with the average points metric as well, as it is averaging 1.83 points per match, the best in Orlando. Restricting it down to Orlando City and the Pride, however, added the 1.18 points that I referenced in the bullets earlier.

The Lions are in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, which earned them one point for being a quarterfinalist and another point for winning that quarterfinal match, so they picked up two points from the U.S. Open Cup.

Orlando was not selected to be a host city for any World Cup games, Orlando City did not qualify for this year’s Concacaf Champions Cup, and the Pride nearly qualified for the semifinals of the Concacaf W Champions Cup but fell just short (ugh, because they really should have advanced), so Orlando did not pick up any points from any of those three categories.

With the points that Orlando accumulated it has tallied a total of 4.18 points so far in 2026. Let’s take a look at where 4.18 puts Orlando in the city rankings:

The cities in the chart above are sorted alphabetically, for ease of finding any cities you are interested in picking out, but the chart below shows the same data but sorted from most to fewest points earned:

In looking at this chart, you will find Orlando just outside the top 10, sitting in the lucky number 13 spot. Unsurprisingly, most of the teams at the top are among the largest cities on the continent and were also selected to be World Cup host cities. Among cities not selected as host cities, and therefore cities that did not receive a one-point bump in my rubric, Orlando ranked fifth, trailing Toluca (Mexico), Nashville, Washington D.C., and Denver.

If the Pride had played a little better in the Concacaf W Champions Cup, and had Barbra Banda not gotten injured and missed the entire group stage last summer, Orlando likely would have qualified for at least the semifinals in that cup and finished in the top six, or perhaps even higher, of these rankings.

It should come as no surprise to soccer fans that Mexican cities dominate the top of this ranking system, as Mexico City boasts a continent-high six teams (men’s and women’s heavyweights Club América, Cruz Azul, and Pumas), Monterrey houses four (men’s and women’s for Tigres and Monterrey), and Toluca, which only has men’s and women’s teams called Toluca but is the reigning Concacaf men’s champion after defeating Tigres on May 30.

With Miami to the south and Atlanta to the north, it was always unlikely that Orlando was going to be selected as a host city, but based on performance alone, our city is among the top soccer cities on the continent this year. And this is even with Orlando City having a down year during league play in 2026 and the Pride only recently putting together some decent results.

Last year, through 15 games Orlando City was nearly one full point better, averaging 1.80 points per game compared to this year’s 0.93, and the 2025 Pride were two-thirds of a point better than this year’s team through their first 12 games, averaging 2.08 points per game last year compared to 1.42 in 2026.

That was then and this is now, and neither season ended the way Orlando City or the Pride wanted in 2025, so hopefully the slower starts portend something better for this year’s teams. There is still a U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup, and MLS playoff spot for Orlando City to play for when its season resumes, and the Pride can solidify, or preferably, improve their playoff spot as well.

As we get closer to the end of 2026 I will update this chart to see where Orlando finishes in the full-year rankings, but for now we once again have unimpeachable evidence that shows that Orlando is the soccer capital of the southeast. We have all known this for years and years, but it is important to remind the people of Atlanta and Miami about it from time to time.

This was that time.

Vamos Orlando!

How’s it going, Mane Landers? We’re only a week away from the World Cup and I’m pretty excited for things to get going after all this buildup for it. Until then, there are some friendlies ahead of us to enjoy and an Orlando City B game on Sunday to look forward to as well. Let’s get to the links!

Lions Receive U.S. Open Cup Honors

Orlando City players Tiago, Griffin Dorsey, Braian Ojeda, and David Brekalo were all named to the 2026 U.S. Open Cup Team of the Round for the quarterfinals, with Ivan Angulo also named to the bench. Martin Perelman was named as the Team of the Round’s coach for leading the Lions to a 4-1 win at home against Atlanta United. Tiago scored a brace and Ojeda contributed a pair of assists, with Brekalo and Dorsey scoring Orlando’s other goals. Hopefully the Lions can continue to impress in this tournament when they travel to face the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16 in the semifinals.

Audi Field Named 2026 NWSL Championship Venue

The NWSL Championship will return to Washington D.C. this year after the league announced that Audi Field will host the 2026 league playoff final on Nov. 21. The nation’s capital previously hosted the NWSL Championship only a short while ago in 2022, with the Portland Thorns beating the Kansas City Current 2-0. Along with the NWSL Championship, the city will also host the 2026 NWSL Awards and NWSL Skills Challenge. For those not making the trip, you can watch the NWSL Championship game on CBS or Paramount+ for the fifth consecutive year.

Sergino Dest Praises Home Crowd Ahead of Friendly

Only one friendly remains for the United States Men’s National Team before the World Cup, with the team set to take on Germany on Saturday in Chicago. It should be a tough test for a U.S. side that has some momentum behind it after a 3-2 win over Senegal. Defender Sergino Dest scored early in that match and spoke on the massive support from the home crowd in the win.

“We have also played in stadiums that we didn’t really have fans, but to have a stadium full with all USA fans that is special and that is also what we need,” Dest said. “So we appreciate that and we want that kind of support because that helps us and look what we guys gave you back…a winner against Senegal, so we need it.

“It’s great to have it like that,” he continued, “We want to have it always like that because it just helps us so much to win games. Even for the opponents, it just scares them as well.”

USWNT Aims to Make the Most of Brazil Trip

The United States Women’s National Team is currently in Brazil for a pair of friendlies against the reigning Copa America Femenina champion. Next summer’s World Cup will take place in Brazil, making this trip a great chance to get the lay of the land while also playing one of the best teams in the world at World Cup venues. Road trips are a bit of a rarity for the USWNT, as it’s only played two international games outside of the U.S. since winning gold in 2024. The U.S. will play Brazil in Sao Paulo on Saturday before another friendly between the two in Fortaleza on Tuesday.

Free Kicks

• American striker Folarin Balogun was named AS Monaco’s Player of the Season after he scored 19 goals across all competitions.
• Club America and Andre Jardine have parted ways, with the manager leaving the club after winning plenty of silverware since joining the club in 2023.
• Swiss forward Breel Embolo was denied boarding the flight to the World Cup due to a criminal conviction and he has since applied for a visa with only a little over a week to go before Switzerland’s first game. Embolo has scored 24 goals in 86 international appearances and is expected to be Switzerland’s starting striker.
• Napoli has signed Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund for a reported $58 million transfer fee. The 23-year-old was loaned to Napoli last September, scoring 16 goals in 44 games for the Italian club.
• Speaking of Manchester United, Atalanta has reportedly agreed to a $47 million transfer fee for United to sign Brazilian midfielder Ederson.

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

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Usually when there are no Orlando City or Orlando Pride matches I worry that finding links will be a challenge. That was not the case today. I will also share that I’m finally starting to get excited about the World Cup. All the grifting and corruption has tempered my enthusiasm until now. I’m not going to forget about it, but darn it I do love this game. Let’s get to the links.

Pasalic, Ojeda, and Crepeau, Oh My!

Orlando City has three players representing their respective countries at the World Cup this summer: Marco Pasalic for Croatia, Braian Ojeda for Paraguay, and Maxime Crepeau for co-host Canada. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait for the tournament as there are friendlies to watch. Pasalic played about 30 minutes in Croatia’s 2-0 loss to Belgium on Tuesday. Croatia will play Slovenia in its final friendly before the World Cup on Sunday. Ojeda’s Paraguay has a friendly against Nicaragua Friday and will be the USMNT’s first opponent in the group stage.

The Canadian Men’s National Team defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in a pre-World Cup friendly Monday evening. Maxime Crepeau was between the sticks for the Canucks at the start of the game and made a good reaction save on a header. He also made a nice one-on-one save against Eldor Shomurodov.

It was a good performance for Orlando City’s keeper. Canada will play Ireland in its final friendly Friday before the start of the World Cup.

Banda-mania Continues

It’s unsurprising that Barbra Banda is getting love all over the place following her two goals and one assist against Bay FC. Banda was a unanimous pick on offense and as captain on the team of the week for The Attacking Third at CBS Sports. She was not alone, as Cori Dyke was also a unanimous pick for her goal and defensive play in the match. Banda also got some love from the official NWSL website and from The XI Sports.

OCB Climbing the Ranks

Thanks to a second win in a row for Orlando City B, the club has jumped up to sixth in the MLS NEXT Pro power rankings. Pedro Leão and Harvey Sarajian led the way for the Young Lions, scoring three of the five goals against Chattanooga FC. Zakaria Taifi occasionally appears for OCB when not with the senior team. Now, he’s been called up to Morocco’s U-23 National Team for training camp in Salé.

USMNT News

There’s one more friendly against Germany on Saturday and then we can turn our full attention to the World Cup. Mauricio Pochettino is trying to balance pragmatism and a quest for greatness in his team.

Former Orlando City defender Alex Freeman is the only player from Florida on the USMNT World Cup roster. At 21 years old he is also the youngest ever. I know he doesn’t play for Orlando City anymore, but I think it’s okay for us to still claim him. Did you know that Matt Freese is a Harvard grad? Me neither, but it is pretty cool that he did a research paper on penalty kicks.

Of course, the oldest player on the team is also the captain. Despite his showing against Senegal, I’m not the only one that is happy Tim Ream is on the squad and wearing the armband. That is a lot of pressure for anyone, but evidently Ream deals with the stress by building with LEGOs, and I love it. Speaking of stress, two years ago Brenden Aaronson scheduled his wedding for May 30, 2026. That was two days before the start of the USMNT World Cup camp. That camp was moved back a week. Fortunately, both the families and the team were understanding.

If you haven’t yet figured out how Mauricio Pochettino is employing his team, here is a pretty good breakdown. Interestingly, it’s sort of like how Orlando City has played, using right backs Ruan, Freeman, and Griffin Dorsey as the high player when the defense pivots to three at the back while in possession.

Free Kicks

• Here is the updated list of every squad and player participating in the World Cup. There are a record 44 players from MLS this time.
• NBC has put out its Top 25 Players in the World Cup. It’s no surprise that no USMNT players made it onto the list, but perhaps that can be some extra motivation for the team.
• FIFA — yes that FIFA — launched a women’s health and performance project on Monday. Perhaps the sport’s governing body could take some of the billions it extracts all over the world and do some good with it.
• Former Orlando Pride defender Brianna Martinez is retiring from professional soccer. She was last with Carolina Ascent FC of the Gainbridge Super League.
• If Giorgian De Arrascaeta isn’t able to play in the World Cup there is a possibility that former Orlando City attacker Facundo Torres could be his replacement.

• Flamengo is allegedly scouting Martin Ojeda. I say this with all sincerity — back off! But seriously, who isn’t keeping an eye on Tincho?

That will do it for today. If you’re not watching OCB, I can’t recommend it enough. And not just because it’s the only Orlando team still playing. Vamos Orlando!