Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I know I’ve said it before, but I love that I can always find soccer to watch. Whether it’s UEFA Champions League or the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, or anything in between, I love it. I’m willing to bet you love it too. Speaking of love, we want to wish a very happy birthday to Orlando City Designated Player Luis Muriel. Let’s get to the links.

All the Rankings

With the win over the Seattle Reign, the Orlando Pride stayed perfect on the season. It was enough for the Pride to remain on top of the standings and also at the top of numerous power rankings. All for XI kept the Pride at No. 1 with a shoutout to Anna Moorhouse, SI.com did the same, while noting Summer Yates’ injury, and Goal.com completed the sweep. The Pride also landed at No. 8 in Opta’s global power rankings for women’s clubs. Strangely, the Kansas City Current were two spots above on that particular list.

OCB Falls to Inter Miami II

Orlando City B traveled to IMG Academy to take on Inter Miami II Tuesday night. The Young Lions went down early on the road, but were able to equalize thanks to a goal from Tahir Reid-Brown. Unfortunately, Inter Miami scored two more goals before a penalty in second-half stoppage time gave OCB a slight lifeline. It was not enough as the team fell 3-2 to their in-state foes.

Generation Adidas Cup Matchups

Orlando City Academy’s U-18 squad won Group J in the Generation Adidas Cup. Now the team will face St. Louis City SC 2 in the Round of 16. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the younger generations of players in Orlando City’s system, here is your opportunity.

U.S. Eyes Gold Cup

We’re about two months out from the start of the Concacaf Gold Cup and it feels like a must-win for the USMNT given recent results. Winning an eighth Gold Cup title will not come easily. Naturally, all eyes fall on Christian Pulisic to lead the squad, though not everyone thinks he should be the pick for captain. Tyler Adams is looking for more belief from his teammates heading into the competition.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City dropped two spots in MLSsoccer.com’s power rankings thanks to the 0-0 draw with the New York Red Bulls. Fortunately, they’re still above the Red Bulls for whatever that is worth.
• The Women’s UEFA Champions League is down to four clubs. Here is your preview for the semi-finals.
• Orlando City did not make the Week 8 Moments of the Matchday. That’s not really surprising given there weren’t really any “moments” to speak of in the match.
• New York Red Bulls midfielder Omar Valencia was fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for violating the simulation-embellishment policy against Orlando City.
• French Ligue 1 clubs on Tuesday voted to break their television deal with DAZN. There is no stated plan for next season.
• USWNT and Lyon midfielder Lindsey Heaps is heaps happy that her USWNT teammates Emily Fox and Jenna Nighswonger have joined her in Europe.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was a solid weekend for the two Orlando teams in action, as Orlando City played to a hard-fought scoreless draw against the New York Red Bulls, while the Orlando Pride knocked off the Seattle Reign 1-0 on the road. We have plenty of things to talk through today, so let’s dive right in.

Orlando Pride Players Up for Weekly Awards

A pair of Orlando Pride players have been nominated for weekly awards due to their efforts in the team’s 1-0 win over the Seattle Reign on Saturday. We start with Anna Moorhouse, who was actually nominated for two awards, as she is up for both the NWSL Save of the Week and Player of the Week! Moorhouse stonewalled Reign winger Maddie Dahlien in the 81st minute during a 1-v-1 situation to preserve the Pride’s slender 1-0 lead on the road.

She also racked up five saves on the night, kept a clean sheet, and was hugely instrumental in the Pride winning a fourth straight game to start off the 2025 season.

Summer Yates, meanwhile, has been nominated for the Assist of the Week for her pinpoint pass to Barbra Banda for the game’s winning goal. In the 41st minute, she hit a stepover, glided past Madison Curry on the left side of the box, and played a great cross to Banda in the six-yard box, who made no mistake with the finish.

Make sure you go vote for our nominees!

Americans in Midweek Action

There are lots of American players taking part in games during the working week, so let’s check in on what we have to look forward to. Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund have the unenviable task of trying to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League today. Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace travel to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Wednesday. Thursday has Tanner Tessman and Lyon on the road against Manchester United in the Europa League, while Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis hit the road to take on Jagiellonia Białystok in the Conference League. Things wrap up with some American vs. American violence on Friday when former Lion Daryl Dike and West Bromwich Albion travel to play Haji Wright and Coventry City in the EFL Championship.

UEFA Champions League Preview

The UEFA Champions League returns this week, with the second leg quarterfinal matches set to take place today and tomorrow. Aston Villa will need to actually come out and attack Paris Saint-Germain in Birmingham today, as the Premier League side comes into the match facing a 3-1 aggregate deficit. Borussia Dortmund has a mountain the size of Everest to climb to overturn a 4-0 deficit against a Barcelona team that looked absolutely lethal on the counterattack last week. Real Madrid also finds itself in a big 3-0 hole against Arsenal, and Los Blancos need to look much more dangerous going forward if they want to have a chance against a Gunners team that will surely look to defend and protect what they earned in the first leg. Bayern Munich is in the best position of the teams that trail after the first leg, as Inter Milan’s aggregate lead is only 2-1. That means Bayern can be fairly flexible approaching the second leg, although the Germans will need to do a much better job at finishing chances than they did last week.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

With the end of most European seasons creeping closer and closer, the transfer rumor mill is starting to spin with increasing intensity, so let’s take a look at some of today’s notable stories. We start with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, who has 19 goals in all competitions this season and could fetch a price in the range of 100 million euros if he is sold this summer. Manchester United is reportedly interested in signing former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who is likely to leave Southampton this summer after the Saints were relegated this year. Speaking of Manchester United, Red Devils striker Rasmus Hojlund is said to be attracting interest from both Juventus and Inter Milan, and he could be on the move this summer.

Free Kicks

• Barbra Banda and Marta received their trophies for making the 2024 FIFPRO World XI.

• Orlando City’s U-18 team enjoyed a successful campaign in group play at the Generation Adidas Cup, earning a spot in the Championship Bracket.

• The Orlando Pride rightly remained the no.1 team in ESPN.com’s NWSL power rankings.
• Despite dominating the New York Red Bulls while playing most of the second half with 10 men, Orlando City somehow dropped a place below those same Red Bulls in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• Chelsea spent the most on agent fees out of all Premier League clubs for a second consecutive year, as they dished out a whopping  £60 million to agents for transfers.

That does it for me this morning. Vamos Orlando!

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you all had a great weekend. I’ve been very busy at work throughout the past week. Let’s wish a happy birthday to former Orlando City forward Facundo Torres, who turned 25 on Sunday. Our Lions picked up a draw, and the Pride extended their winning streak while OCB was off this weekend. We have plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw New York Red Bulls at Home

Orlando City and the New York Red Bulls fought to a scoreless draw on Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium. It’s the first time the Lions have had two consecutive draws since the 2023 season after picking up a scoreless draw on the road the previous week against the Philadelphia Union. Orlando had chances early on, but the match changed in the second half when Rodrigo Schlegel picked up his second yellow card, and the Lions had to play the rest of the match down a man, holding on to preserve a point. Orlando City extended its unbeaten run to five matches but is winless in its last two matches. The Lions’ next match will be on the road on Saturday to take on CF Montreal at Saputo Stadium.

Pride Beat Seattle Reign on the Road

The Orlando Pride defeated the Seattle Reign 1-0 on Saturday at Lumen Field. Barbra Banda scored the lone goal in the match to seal Orlando’s fourth consecutive win to start the 2025 NWSL season. It’s the fourth time this season that the Pride have scored first in a match. Oihane Hernandez came off the bench to make her debut for the Pride in the second half. With another three points, the Pride remain atop the NWSL table with 12 points, edging the Kansas City Current on goal differential. After the match, Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines shared his thoughts on the players’ performance and the challenge of getting three points on the road.  

The Pride return home to Inter&Co Stadium Saturday to take on the Washington Spirit in a rematch of the 2024 NWSL final.

Orlando City U-18 and U-16 Teams Pick Up Wins in Generation Adidas Cup

The Orlando City U-18 squad defeated Inter Milan 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in its first match in the group stage over the weekend in the Generation Adidas Cup at IMG Academy. The Lions trailed 1-0 in the first half, but Justin Ellis found the back of the net for the equalizer to tie the match with Gustavo Caraballo adding the assist. Colin Guske and Clovis Archange also played in that match.

The U-18 squad followed that up by beating the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Sunday, with goals from Caraballo and Ellis. Later today, the U-18 squad will face LAFC in the final group stage match at 4:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the U-16 squad got off to a good start over the weekend, beating Ulsan HD FC 5-0 in the opening matchup. Brady Kendall and Jose Segura scored two goals each, along with an own goal, to seal the win.

The U-16 squad also defeated the Columbus Crew 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

The U-16 team will conclude its final group stage match against LAFC at 11:30 a.m. today.

Americans Abroad

Let’s catch up on how some Americans did abroad in Europe over the weekend. Christian Pulisic provided an assist in AC Milan’s 4-0 win over Udinese. Gianluca Busio played 85 minutes as Venezia defeated Monza 1-0, boosting its survival hopes in Serie A, being just two points behind Lecce in 17th to get out of the relegation zone. Cameron Carter-Vickers scored a stellar goal as Celtic cruised to a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock. In the women’s FA Cup, Phallon Tullis-Joyce made four saves as Manchester United defeated Manchester City 2-0. Catarina Macario and Chelsea edged Liverpool 2-1 and will meet Manchester United in the women’s FA Cup final on May 18. Later today, we’ll have two U.S. Men’s National Team players do battle as Bournemouth and Tyler Adams face Fulham and Antonee Robinson at Vitality Stadium.

Free Kicks

• USMNT and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie is reportedly among 13 soccer players under investigation by Italian authorities for placing illegal online bets on other sports.
• Vancouver Whitecaps striker Brian White scored a club-record four goals as his side dominated Austin FC 5-1 on Saturday. White also became the first player in Whitecaps history to score 50 career regular-season goals.
• The Philadelphia Union have traded midfielder Daniel Gazdag to the Columbus Crew for a guaranteed $4,000,000. The club could also acquire an additional $500,000 in the deal if Gazdag meets certain performance metrics.
• Sevilla fired manager Javier Garcia Pimienta after a 1-0 defeat against Valencia over the weekend. Sevilla is 13th in the La Liga table and has lost four consecutive matches.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.