Lion Links: 7/1/26

Good morning, everyone! It’s matchday for the United States Men’s National Team with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line. We’ve got a lot to talk through today, so let’s wish a happy birthday to Orlando City B defender Clovis Archange and get into the links!

USMNT Injury Updates

With the USMNT set to take on Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight at 8 p.m., we have some health updates to go through for some American players. First and foremost, talisman Christian Pulisic spoke before Tuesday’s training session and said he feels good and is ready to go the full 90 minutes after being limited to just 77 minutes across the USMNT’s three group stage games due to an ankle injury. Given how dangerous the team looked once he was introduced against Turkiye in the third game, that’s a welcome piece of news. Mauricio Pochettino also provided updates on Auston Trusty, Mark McKenzie, and Cristian Roldan. There seems to be a chance that Trusty will be ready to go, while the outlooks are less positive for McKenzie and Roldan.

World Cup Results Roundup

We were treated to another exciting batch of World Cup matches on Tuesday. In the early game, Norway used an 86th-minute Erling Haaland goal to power past a second-half equalizer from the Ivory Coast and knock off the African side 2-1 to book a spot in the Round of 16. That sets up a tantalizing Haaland vs. Vinicius Jr. showdown against Brazil on July 5 in New Jersey. The second game of the day wasn’t as close, as a Kylian Mbappe brace powered France past Sweden for a 3-0 win that really could have seen the French score a boatload of additional goals. France took 25 shots, with 16 coming from inside the box, and put 12 of them on target. The score almost certainly would have been much uglier if not for some wasteful finishing and an admirable goalkeeping effort from Jacob Zetterstrom. The final match of the day between Mexico and Ecuador concluded after our editorial deadline with the start delayed by weather.

Questions for Final 16 Teams

A number of teams have booked their spot in the next round of knockout games, but questions still remain when it comes to their performances. For Paraguay, will the team continue to be successful if it can’t score the first goal? Doing so against Turkiye and Germany allowed Paraguay to sit back and play on the counterattack, while conceding early against the USMNT opened floodgates that the South Americans were never able to close. Brazil doesn’t seem to have a concrete plan aside from getting the ball to the best players and letting them cook, and it’s fair to ask questions about how much mileage that strategy has left. Then there’s Canada, which isn’t short on energy and work rate, but has been limited by Alphonso Davies’ availability (or lack thereof). Will he be available for what looks to be an extremely tough test against a Morocco side that beat Canada 2-1 at the 2022 World Cup?

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer season never stops, it simply rumbles along in the background. Today’s rumblings start with Folarin Balogun, who is reportedly on Paris Saint-Germain’s shortlist to replace Goncalo Ramos, who has signed with AC Milan. Moving to England, Tottenham has reportedly agreed to a club record-deal of $112 million to sign midfielder Mateus Fernandes from West Ham. Manchester United is also keen on raiding the relegated Hammers for players, and is said to have identified winger Crysencio Summerville as a player they want to sign. That said, the Red Devils’ ability to due so will likely hinge heavily on whether or not they can resolve the situation with Marcus Rashford, who is scheduled to return from loan.

Free Kicks

• Reagan Raabe’s time with the Orlando Pride has concluded.

• Austin FC has signed winger Przemyslaw Placheta on a free transfer.
• Toronto FC is reportedly putting the finishing touches on a signing of its own.

• Julian Nagelsmann says his Germany side is not a “first-class team” anymore after being knocked off by Paraguay on penalties.
• Ronald Koeman has stepped down as head coach of the Netherlands after the team lost to Morocco on penalty kicks.

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