We’re a week into this year’s World Cup and I’ve been enjoying the action so far. The star players have been living up to expectations for the most part, and it’s been fairly competitive in my opinion. Before we get to today’s links from around the soccer world, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando Pride defender Rafaelle!

Marco Pasalic’s Journey to the World Cup

Orlando City winger Marco Pasalic made his World Cup debut Wednesday, coming off the bench for Croatia and putting a shot on target in his team’s 4-2 loss to England. While not a great result, it’s still a momentous time for Pasalic, who spoke prior to the tournament on his soccer journey. The 25-year-old shared details about his upbringing as part of a refugee family in Germany and the importance of maintaining his connection with Croatia over the years. Pasalic also gave insight on the gratitude he has towards Orlando City for the opportunities he’s had since becoming a Lion.

“You saw it when I played my first game here, that I felt really well, two goals in the first match. No other club did I score in my debut,” he said. “The last season speaks for itself, that I felt really good. I have to be thankful that this club gives me the opportunity to play so many games. I got the recall up for the national team, because I gained it here through the trust of the club, the trust of everybody here, and I could provide it on the field.”

Analyzing Australia Ahead of USMNT Match

The United States Men’s National Team will play Australia on Friday in a pivotal World Cup game with control of Group D on the line. This will only be the fifth match between the two nations, with the most recent match being a 2-1 U.S. win in October. Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach surprisingly started over captain Mathew Ryan and had eight saves in Australia’s 2-0 win over Turkiye, with center backs Alessandro Circati and Harry Souttar doing their part defensively as well. As for Australia’s attack, the U.S. will need to find a way to limit Nestory Irankunda, who scored against Turkiye and can do damage on the counter or from set pieces. At 6-foot-6, forward Tete Yengi is another Australian to keep an eye out for and he could make an impact off the bench.

Angel City FC Parts Ways With Alex Straus

Alex Straus is no longer Angel City’s head coach, with the two parting ways during this break in the league schedule. Angel City got off to a hot start this season, with Straus named NWSL Coach of the Month for March, but has since only won one of its past eight games. Straus officially joined the club in June of last year after winning three consecutive league titles with Bayern Munich, and now his time with Angel City comes to a close just a little over a year later. Leif Gunnar Smerud will serve as Angel City’s interim head coach moving forward while the club searches for its fourth head coach in its short club history.

Gotham FC and Angel City Make Big Moves

Angel City will also be without Kennedy Fuller, as the 19-year-old midfielder was traded to Bay FC in exchange for $500,000 in Intraleague Transfer Funds and $20,000 in Allocation Money. That’s not all Angel City is up to though, as it has reportedly signed American attacker Ally Sentnor from the Kansas City Current for a $850,000 transfer fee as well.

Gotham FC is wheeling and dealing too, trading 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year Lilly Reale to the Boston Legacy for $350,000 in Allocation Money and $50,000 in Intraleague Transfer Funds. The Massachusetts native should bolster a Boston defense still searching for its first clean sheet. Gotham is also reportedly set to sign Australian forward Sam Kerr as a free agent. The 32-year-old previously played for Gotham back when the club was named Sky Blue FC and should bring some firepower to a loaded team that’s somehow only scored 12 goals in 11 games this season.

2026 FIFA World Cup Roundup

Harry Kane scored twice in England’s aforementioned 4-2 win over Croatia in Arlington. FC Dallas forward Petar Musa scored an equalizer for Croatia right before the half in an emotional moment, but Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford both scored in the second half to lift England to victory. In Houston, Portugal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo battled to a 1-1 draw. While an unexpected result, the DR Congo is a talented side that eliminated Nigeria, Jamaica, and Cameroon in order to qualify. Ghana beat Panama 1-0 thanks to Caleb Yirenkyi scoring deep in stoppage time in a rainy match in Toronto.

Today’s action features Group A and Group B, with Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and Canada set to take on Qatar. Fellow co-host Mexico will face South Korea and either nation can qualify for the knockout round with a win if Czechia and South Africa draw in the other Group A game.

Free Kicks

• Here’s the first look at next year’s biopic about Marta, with Alice Carvalho starring as the legendary forward.

• Orlando City B may be climbing the MLS NEXT Pro standings, but it remained in seventh in the power rankings. Hopefully the Young Lions can make it five straight wins when they host Philadelphia Union II on Sunday.
• The Colorado Rapids transferred Connor Ronan to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership, with him signing a two-year contract with his new club.
• The Philadelphia Union waived defender Olivier Mbaizo, who has been with the club since 2018.
• Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva signed a two-year contract with Real Madrid after nine years with Manchester City.
• Mexico’s military brought down a drone that was seen near South Korea’s training camp as it prepares to play against Mexico.

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

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! We’re into the thick of the World Cup group stage, and so far it’s been undeniably entertaining. My only complaint is that I’m not independently wealthy and still have to work during the day rather than travel to and pay the stupid ticket prices to watch whichever matches I want. Oh well, until that happens let’s get to the links, but not before we wish Orlando Pride midfielder Summer Yates a happy birthday.

Griezmann Signing Graded

There were plenty of big signings this summer transfer window, including Orlando City securing the services of Antoine Griezmann. Unsurprisingly, the Lions earned top marks for bringing the Frenchman to the City Beautiful. You might not know all there is to know about Orlando City’s newest Designated Player and may want more information on him and why he isn’t with France at the World Cup. Obviously, he retired from international football. Fortunately, he didn’t retire from club football.

USMNT vs. Australia

The USMNT plays Australia in the second match of the group stage this Friday at 3 p.m. The U.S. is coming off a dominating win over Paraguay, but Australia managed a pretty good win over a tough Türkiye team. There has been a lot of talk by U.S. pundits before the tournament about Mike Grella’s remark that Australia would be a “layup,” and the Socceroos are using that as bulletin board material. It’s an intriguing matchup since Australia, like Paraguay, favors a low block and attacking on the counter. The U.S. effectively shut down Paraguay when it tried the same thing. Can the U.S. replicate its performance from the first match on Friday? That is why they play the game. If you’re looking for somewhere to watch the match in the Orlando area, here is your guide.

Even More USMNT News

It’s all too often that we get over-hyped after a win like the USMNT over Paraguay, but is that the case this time, or can the team make a deep run into the tournament? With Australia up next, U.S. supporters are concerned about the health of Christian Pulisic. According to Mauricio Pochettino, he’s all good. Meanwhile, Haji Wright remembers scoring a brace against the Aussies when the teams met in a friendly. Wright was an unused sub in the first World Cup match, but perhaps he’ll have a chance on Friday. Wright says that Türkiye came into the match too confident, but the U.S. knows how dangerous Australia is and won’t make that same mistake.

World Cup Results

The two early matches on Tuesday were enjoyable even if the results were a little more what we expected. Kylian Mbappé scored a brace in France’s 3-1 win over Senegal. Bradley Barcola scored France’s second goal and Ibrahim Mbaye scored Senegal’s lone goal. In the second match, Erling Haaland also scored a brace in Norway’s 4-1 victory over Iraq. Aymen Hussein scored Iraq’s only goal. Unfortunately for him, he also scored an own goal for Norway. It is nice that Mbappé and Haaland wanted to emulate Folarin Balogun. Thankfully, the Argentina versus Algeria match was late enough that I did not have to write about it or that Lionel Messi guy.

Free Kicks

• Tyler Adams just seems like a good dude, and it’s stuff like this that proves it. He is working with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to build mini pitches in areas of need across the country.
• England hasn’t played a match in the World Cup and the team has already had to replace Tino Livramento, who has been ruled out due to a calf injury. Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah is his replacement.
• Remember during the opening match between Mexico and and South Africa, when Fox aired commercials during the hydration break? Remember how they didn’t come back until play had already resumed? FIFA could have punished the network but has decided not to do so. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again.
• The Chicago Stars signed Spain national team defender Leila Ouahabi to a three-year contract through the 2028 NWSL season.
• We know that Mauricio Pochettino won’t be heading to AC Milan, since the club appointed Ruben Amorim to the head coach post.
• Are Scotland supporters drinking all the beer in Boston? I’m betting that the Tartan Army is giving it a try.
• There’s nothing quite like getting called out by your middle school teacher as an adult.

That will do it for today. We’re only two days from the USMNT versus Australia, and I’m ready to run through a brick wall — metaphorically speaking. We also have OCB this weekend, so make time to watch the Young Lions. Vamos Orlando!

Good morning, everyone! I write to you from Seattle, where I touched down last night ahead of attending the United States Men’s National Team’s second group game against Australia on Friday. I’ll spend the early part of this week getting out into some nature with my family, before returning to the city on Thursday to cheer on our boys against the Aussies. We’ve got lots to talk about today, so let’s get into the links!

Alex Freeman’s Impact

By now, I’m sure you know that the USMNT opened its time at the World Cup with a rousing 4-1 shellacking of Paraguay. What you might not know is the role that former Orlando City fullback Alex Freeman played in the victory. He continued his meteoric rise since debuting for OCSC’s senior side last season, as he went the full 90 minutes against Paraguay and racked up an assist, two interceptions, and five recoveries. He also pushed forward and took up positions in the half spaces that cause plenty of problems for the opponent’s defense and was mostly sharp with his positioning defensively. Here’s hoping he continues that sort of form!

World Cup Results Roundup

It was another engrossing day of World Cup action on Monday, and things got off to a very strong start. Debutants Cape Verde played Spain to a scoreless draw in Atlanta, as the 64th-ranked team in the world picked up its first World Cup point in its first-ever match. The second game of the day saw Egypt take a surprising lead over Belgium before the introduction of Romelu Lukaku off the bench forced an own goal that leveled the score and saw the game end 1-1. Uruguay and Saudi Arabia made it three draws in three games, as the underdogs once again took the lead before Uruguay fought back well in the second half. The final game of the day between Iran and New Zealand concluded after our editorial deadline.

Tunisia Fires Head Coach

It only took four days of games for this World Cup to get its first managerial change, as Tunisia fired head coach Sabri Lamouchi on Monday morning. Tunisia wrapped up Sunday’s action by being on the wrong end of a 5-1 hammering against Sweden to open tournament play on a less-than-ideal note. The loss meant Tunisia has won just one of its last eight games, and the team has given up five goals in two straight games after slumping to a 5-0 loss to Belgium in its final pre-tournament friendly. Mondher Kebaier will take over as interim head coach and has a lot to fix before Tunisia faces Japan in its second group game on Saturday.

Global Transfer Summary

Under cover of the World Cup, transfers are still flying thick and fast around the world. We begin with Real Madrid, which announced the signing of fullback Marc Cucurella from Chelsea on Monday morning. Elsewhere, former Lens manager Pierre Sage was named Oliver Glasner’s successor as the head coach of Crystal Palace. Moving into the realm of rumor, winger Ismael Saibari is reportedly close to joining Bayern Munich from PSV Eindhoven, with a medical the only thing left standing in the way from putting pen to paper. Finally, new Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is said to be keen on signing midfielder Felix Nmecha from Borussia Dortmund, but he will likely face stiff competition from Premier League sides and Dortmund itself.

Free Kicks

• Cape Verde’s goalkeeper was superb in the team’s draw against Spain and has seen his online popularity explode as a result.

• FIFA found no evidence of a racist gesture by video assistant referee Shaun Evans before Germany’s match against Curacao.
• There have been some entertaining moments both on and off the field at the tournament.

• Bukayo Saka says he’s ready for England’s opening match, despite fears over an Achilles tendon that bothered him off and on during the club season.

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