Connect with us

Uncategorized

Florida Cup 2021: Everton Defeats Pumas, Nacional Edges Millonarios

Published

5 years ago

on

Florida Cup’s second and final night came to Camping World Stadium tonight with a pair of friendlies. With Everton having already won the event with a penalty-kick shootout victory over Millonarios on Sunday — following the withdrawal of Arsenal and Inter Milan from the competition before it began, due to COVID-19 concerns — the event did well to add Pumas and Nacional to the lineup to fill out the second day.

But rather than rearrange the entire event to accommodate the last-minute additions, Florida Cup merely hosted the championship match on Sunday and a pair of friendlies tonight, rather than make the late additions part of the competition.

Everton of the English Premier League took on Pumas UNAM of Mexico’s Liga MX in the opening match, with Atletico Nacional and Millonarios taking part in a Colombian first division rivalry match in the nightcap.

Everton 1, Pumas 0

In the opening match, Everton got a first-half goal and that was enough to send Pumas home with a 1-0 loss. The goal came early in the match, with Moise Kean getting in behind in the 19th minute and hitting his shot at goalkeeper Julio Gonzalez. The keeper made the initial save but spilled it and left Kean with an easy tap-in to give the Toffees a 1-0 lead.

Everton should have had a chance from the penalty spot later in the half. Kean again was the danger man, trying an acrobatic shot on the volley and hitting the obviously outstretched arm of Ricardo Galindo in the penalty area. The arm was straight up and not even close to being in a natural position and may have prevented a goal. There was no penalty awarded and the Florida Cup does not have VAR.

The best chance for Pumas came in the 41st minute. Defender Nicolas Freire got his head to a corner kick cross. His shot deflected out off an Everton player and out for another corner.

Everton’s Alex Iwobi should have doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time. Iwobi broke down the right and fired a shot that skipped just inches wide of the left post.

That was it for the first half and the Toffees took their 1-0 lead into the break. Pumas had more shots (7-6) but Everton got more on target (4-2). Pumas earned more corners (3-1) but Everton held more possession (56.9%-43.1%) and passed more accurately (88.8%-81.8%).

Everton created some danger just two minutes after the restart, with Nathan Broadhead sending a cross through the box but none of his teammates could get onto it.

Three minutes later, Pumas got its first good look of the second half with Cristian Battocchio sending a shot just wide of the left post. Juan Ignacio Dinenno fired wide from the top of the area in the 58th minute for Pumas as the Mexican side continued to be wasteful with its chances.

Everton eventually got back on the front foot and finding space in the penalty area. In the 62nd minute, Anthony Gordon stung the palms of Gonzalez with a shot from the top of the area, but the keeper was able to make the save. Two minutes later, Abdoulaye Doucoure sent a shot just wide of the right post on a good opportunity.

Gonzalez then made an excellent save on James Rodriguez in the 68th minute off a cross from Gordon from the left.

Leonel Lopez tried his luck from distance in the 74th, sending a shot in that forced a diving save from substitute goalkeeper Joao Virginia. The Portuguese keeper made an even bigger stop a minute later on a second long-range attempt.

Jonjoe Kenny got in alone in the 82nd minute for the Toffees but Gonzalez made himself big and made a point-blank save.

That was the last good opportunity for either side, as Pumas tried to get forward for the equalizer but couldn’t connect the final pass in the attacking third. Everton held on for the win.

Pumas had more shot attempts (15-14), but Everton got more on target (7-4). Pumas earned more corners (5-2), while Everton held more possession (55.7%-44.3%) and more accurate passing (85.8%-83.9%).

“We were expecting that (Pumas) would play in another way,” Everton Manager Rafa Benitez said after the match. “We were watching some games and they changed the system. And that is good news for us because we were learning how to manage another way to attack and defend against a different system. And that is a great opportunity for us to grow, to improve. And I think that we did well in the end.”

Atletico Nacional 3, Millonarios 2

In the nightcap, the Colombian rivalry got spicy early. Just six minutes into the match, Nacional was pressing forward and creating problems. Jarlan Barrera broke down the middle of the box alone and scored the opening goal for the former club of Orlando City midfielder Andres Perea.

Four minutes later, Juan Carlos Pereira of Millonarios picked up a yellow card for a nasty-looking challenge in the center circle.

From there, the game simply exploded for the rest of the first half, with the teams trading goals and scoring chances. Millonarios sent a warning signal in the 18th minute when Fernando Uribe fired just wide from the top of the area. Seven minutes later, Millonarios leveled the match. David Silva’s shot took a deflection and the goalkeeper had no chance in the 25th minute.

Nacional nearly pulled that goal back in the 28th minute but Harrison Mojica hit the crossbar. However, his team regained the lead anyway in the 31st minute, when a through ball split the defense and Jonatan Alvez finished calmly to make it 2-1.

A minute later, Uribe smashed a header just wide for Millonarios and in the 33rd minute, Los Embajadores equalized again. Silva got his brace with another shot that took a slight deflection off a defender and beat Aldair Quintana to make it 2-2.

The teams traded chances again before Nacional went back in front. Alvez was left all alone at the back post on a corner kick and the ball deflected through and fell for him to finish in the 44th minute.

Alvez nearly completed a first-half hat trick in stoppage time, but Christian Vargas made a huge save on his shot from about seven yards out.

The teams finally got to take a breath and went to their locker rooms with Nacional holding a 3-2 edge. Nacional also led in shots (10-6), shots on target (5-2), corners (5-1), possession (55.1%-44.9%), and passing accuracy (87.6%-83.1%).

After such a crazy first half, it was a bit disappointing to see the match settle down in the second period, but neither team could find the net. There were a few good opportunities, but the score stayed right where it was.

Uribe sent his third shot of the game wide of the net two minutes after the restart, giving him a hat trick of near-misses for Millonarios.

In the 66th minute, Nacional nearly got an insurance goal from Baldomero Perlaza but Vargas made a massive save to keep it a one-goal game.

Millonarios created the best chance of the second half, nearly bagging an equalizer in the 85th minute. But Quintana made a fantastic diving save to keep it out and the match ended the same way the first half finished up.

Nacional led in shots (17-11), shots on target (8-3), corners (8-4), possession (55.7%-44.3%), and passing accuracy (86.4%-83.9%). Despite the statistical domination, Millonarios were inches from tying the match late and had Los Embajadores been a little sharper — especially Uribe — could have beaten their rivals from Medellin.

That will do it for the 2021 version of the Florida Cup. The event was fraught with challenges due to the pandemic and had done well to schedule a stellar lineup, only to have things go wrong practically on the eve of the tournament. Kudos to Florida Cup for making the most of a bad situation and hosting an exciting event. We’ll see if the competition returns to the winter in 2022 or remains a summer event.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

3 days ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

Continue Reading

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and 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.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

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. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

Continue Reading

Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. 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.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

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 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

Continue Reading

Trending