Lion Links: 7/28/26

Good morning, everyone. It was a mostly good weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as the three sides took six of the nine available points on offer. We’ve got another busy week ahead of us as the Orlando Pride travel to face the North Carolina Courage on Friday, Orlando City faces the New York Red Bulls on the road on Saturday, and Orlando City B completes the trio of away games with a road match against Connecticut United on Saturday. We’ve got lots to talk about today, so let’s wish Yutaro Tsukada a happy birthday and get into the links!

Lessons from Matchday 18

Major League Soccer’s 18th matchday is in the books, and there was plenty to be learned from a busy Saturday of action. For one thing, Antoine Griezmann’s fingerprints were all over another Orlando City win, despite no goal contributions for the Frenchman. The Houston Dynamo’s attack looked great in a 3-0 win over Austin FC, despite former Lion Duncan McGuire only coming on as a substitute. LAFC was devastating in transition during a 4-0 romp over Sporting Kansas City. Heung-Min Son opened the scoring after just five minutes, and now has a goal in three straight games after a quiet start to the season and quieter World Cup.

MLS All-Star Game Preview

The MLS All-Star Game is set for Wednesday night in Charlotte, with Orlando City’s Maxime Crepeau set to represent the Lions. Former Lion Richie Laryea is on the MLS roster too, with other key players including Hany Muhktar, Zavier Gozo, and Petar Musa. The Liga MX team features former LAFC player Omar Campos, as well Fernando Gorriaran, Erik Lira, and Israel Reyes — with the latter two fresh off World Cup duty with Mexico earlier in the summer. Charlotte FC’s Dean Smith leads the MLS team, while Toluca’s Antonio Mohamed coaches the Liga MX squad. MLS leads the current version of the format 3-1, with the league’s only loss coming in the 2024 edition that was held in Columbus.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

The summer transfer window is in full swing, and we’ve got a lot to catch up on. We start with the Portland Timbers, who are reportedly signing free agent forward Vincent Jannsen.

Charlotte FC, meanwhile, will reportedly sell winger Kerwin Vargas to Atletico Paranaense.

Across the pond, Real Madrid will reportedly be signing Ivorian winger Yan Diomande from Red Bull Leipzig for a deal expected to be worth €135 million. Leeds United is said to be closing in on a deal for Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford for an initial fee of £40 million. Finally, John Stones will reportedly sign for Inter Milan on a two-year deal.

Italy U-Turn on Andrea Pirlo

Italy has backtracked on appointing 2006 World Cup-winner Andrea Pirlo as the team’s next head coach, with federation president Giovanni Malago reportedly concerned over Pirlo’s ties to a Russian betting company. Rumors over the last several days pointed towards Pirlo being appointed soon, and he was apparently ready to leave his current job coaching Dubai United, but several Italian politicians voiced concerns over his links to Russian company Fonbet amid the war in Ukraine. The decision to not hire Pirlo reportedly has Italian technical director Paolo Maldini ready to step down from his role a mere 16 days into the job. This comes after Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti both recently turned down offers to become Italy’s newest head coach.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City rose five spots to no. 28 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• The Orlando Pride rose one spot to no. 11 in the same publication’s NWSL power rankings.
• Take a look at what Maxime Crepeau got up to during All-Star preparations.

• Caleb Trombino represented Orlando City by starting in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game Monday night. While the midfielder didn’t score, he was a member of the winning East squad that thumped the West 6-1.

• Chicharito has become the first signing for USL Championship side Atletico Dallas.
• Gianni Infantino has been called to appear before Congress amidst an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee.
• Esther Gonzalez has reached a mutual decision to terminate her contract with Gotham FC due to a personal matter back home.

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