We went from a short show last week to a marathon this week, as we had a lot of ground to cover and a special guest! We’re joined this week by The Mane Land senior columnist Ben Miller, giving us three in the booth for the first time in a while.

We opened the show with a brief discussion of the report out of Europe that Orlando is in play for AC Milan and Mexican international forward Santiago Gimenez. None of us think it’s happening — at least not at the price as reported. It’s nice to be linked with all of the rumors again with Antoine Griezmann obviously having an effect.

After our transfer rumor discussion, we discuss OCB’s home loss to Philadelphia Union II, which was unexpected the way the Young Lions have been playing. In truth, OCB should have gotten something from the game, but they were wasteful in front of goal, so creating far more chances meant nothing with all of the shots hitting the Philly goalkeeper in the chest.

Ben was then given his time to shine, as he has just returned from Seattle, where he watched the U.S. Men’s National Team’s win over Australia, including former Lion Alex Freeman’s first World Cup goal. It was great to get the vibe of such a momentous piece of USMNT history from someone who was there to experience it. Big thanks to Ben for spending some time with us and discussing not only the match itself, but also Freeman’s continued development and how Mauricio Pochettino might approach the final group stage match against Turkey on Thursday night.

Our mailbagbox was chock full, so we tried to go quickly, but you can only do so much. Our listeners wanted to know about the World Cup, Orlando City’s biggest need, and much more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Finally, we looked ahead to OCB’s showdown Sunday at home against Eastern Conference leader Columbus Crew 2. It’s a chance for the Young Lions to get redemption for Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia and get back on track.

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Here’s how No. 539 went down:

0:15 – A forward is linked with OCSC and OCB’s streak-snapping loss.

21:02 – A firsthand account of the USMNT’s huge win over Australia.

1:09:48 – Our mailbagbox and a brief preview of OCB-Crew 2.

The Orlando Pride are still off for a couple of weeks, but the soccer rarely stops. We’re back to touch on the United States Women’s National Team’s trip to Brazil to face three Pride players and their Brazilian teammates. It was kind of an ugly pair of games for the USWNT, which struggled to score goals and connect in the final third. The second of those two matches was a wild affair that devolved into a parade of red cards near the end.

We touch on the reports out of Zambia on Barbra Banda’s injury, which seems to be more promising than expected when she went down with a knock against Bay FC. We’ll have to wait to see when she can return, but if she’s expected to play in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, that is a good sign.

This week’s mailbagbox asked a couple of questions about Banda. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 126 went down:

0:15 – The USWNT went to Brazil to play and didn’t play as well as we’re used to seeing.

13:06 – The mailbagbox goes through some interesting twists and turns and then we just ramble for a little bit (who, us?).

Orlando City B is the lone team still playing through the World Cup and by golly we’re going to reward them for that by talking about the Young Lions. This week, they took to the road to face Huntsville City in Alabama and brought all three points back with them after a 2-1 comeback win. For the second straight game, the Young Lions started the game a bit lethargically and fell behind. But OCB is nothing if not resilient. The team kicked it into gear in the second half and grabbed a hard-fought three points on the road.

We discuss the match, including how Matthew Belgodere suddenly can’t stop scoring and Parker Amoo-Mensah has earned his shiny new MLS NEXT Pro contract.

After our OCB-Carolina Core rewind, we discussed the USMNT’s 4-1 beatdown of Paraguay in the team’s World Cup opener. Former Lion Alex Freeman was one of several players who shone brightly in the opener, which hopefully will provide some momentum going up against Australia this week. We discussed the unexpected joy of watching the U.S. playe like one of the world’s soccer super powers, even if it was only one game.

We also look ahead to Sunday’s OCB match at home against Philadelphia Union II. Sunday’s visitors don’t score a lot, but they also don’t concede many goals. If OCB can keep things rolling, it would be a big step toward getting a decent postseason seed, although there is a lot of soccer yet to be played. I was supposed to do the mailbagbox next but it’s out of order. It’s fine. You’ll figure it out.

Our mailbagbox is timely, asking about which Lion will ultimately finish their career with the most caps for their national team. Our vote was split. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 538 went down:

0:15 – OCB won on the road despite a poor start, and the U.S. started and ended strong against South American competition.

24:02 – OCB is back at home Sunday, looking to add more points to its 2026 total.

29:04 – Our mailbagbox asks us to predict the future.