Lion Links: 9/29/26

Good morning, everyone. It was a mixed weekend for soccer in the City Beautiful, as the Orlando Pride picked up a W, and the United States Men’s National Team made it eight wins from eight in the purple palace, while the less said about Orlando City’s efforts on Saturday night, the better. Fortunately, the Lions won’t be back in action until Oct. 10, while the Pride return home to face the San Diego Wave on Friday. We’ve got lots to talk about today, so let’s have a look at the links.

Big Day for Lions Past and Present

Justin Ellis and Alex Freeman featured for the USMNT in style during Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Peru in Orlando. Ellis scored just four minutes into his debut with the senior side and very understandably called it “the perfect moment.” Not only did Ellis score on his debut in his home stadium, but he did so while reuniting with Alex Freeman, alongside whom he came up through the ranks of Orlando City’s academy. For Freeman, it was his first time playing in Orlando since departing for Villarreal earlier in the year, and he took a lone lap around the field at the end of the game to soak everything in. After a homecoming for a former Lion, and a coming-of-age party for a current one, here’s hoping the good vibes keep rolling against Chile tonight.

Pride Players Earn Recognition

The Orlando Pride got a big win on Sunday, as the team knocked off Bay FC 3-1 to keep alive their hopes of reaching the playoff places. Two Pride players are earning their just flowers from the performance. We start with Haley McCutcheon, who has been nominated for the NWSL Player of the Week after scoring two of the Pride’s three goals.

Then, there’s Jacquie Ovalle, who has been nominated for Goal of the Week following her stoppage-time effort that curled into the side netting and provided the Pride with an insurance goal.

Make sure you go vote for both players!

International Roundup

It was another busy day of international games, so let’s first run through some of the results from the UEFA Nations League. In the A tier, France knocked off Belgium 1-0 thanks to a late Michael Olise goal, while Italy hammered Turkiye 4-1. There were a pair of goal-heavy games down in the B tier, as Sweden beat Poland 3-1 after Benjamin Nygren opened the scoring just eight minutes in, while Bosnia and Herzegovina scored twice inside the opening 20 minutes and beat Romania 4-2. Things were much tighter when it came to qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations. The Democratic Republic of the Congo survived a late scare and beat Zimbabwe 2-1 to stay perfect in Group E, while Tunisia and Botswana split the points in an entertaining 2-2 draw that saw the teams combine to take 32 shots.

FIFA Tentatively Agrees to Distribute Funds from World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has agreed in principle to a joint proposal from UEFA and Concacaf that would see the organization distribute funds to its member associations following record-breaking revenues from the World Cup. In a letter to the six confederations, Infantino noted that the bodies had different priorities, and that while he is broadly in favor of the proposal, he wants to sort through the finer details when the FIFA council meets next month. He also did not speculate on what a payout might look like, saying, “Until the assessment and necessary approvals are complete, no preliminary figure can be treated as an approved commitment to the Member Associations….I will not prejudge the amount. I will support the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered through FIFA’s proper governance process, applied fairly and supported by transparent and auditable arrangements.”

Free Kicks

• Orlando City B has transferred Pedro Leao to Hatta FC of the UAE Pro league, while retaining a sell-on percentage.
• Orlando City held fast at no.10 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• The Orlando Pride rose two spots to no.10 in the same publication’s NWSL power rankings.
• Barbra Banda has been included in Goal.com’s 2026 list of world-class women’s soccer players.
• Atlanta’s NWSL expansion side will be called Atlanta City FC, which is…fine. The crest and colors are quite nice though.

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