Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I have returned from my trip down to the City Beautiful having enjoyed two victories, six points, 10 total Orlando goals, and a bunch of great memories. I’m not saying that I had anything to do with the results, but I’m not, NOT saying it either.

I want to thank those listeners of The Mane Land PawedCast and all the readers of this site that I was able to meet with over the weekend. It was truly a pleasure to see you all. Now, let’s get to today’s links.

Lions Move Up in Power Rankings and Standings

It’s amazing what a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Fire can do for a team following a mid-week draw against Western Conference powerhouse LAFC. Those four points moved Orlando City up seven spots to 10th in the MLS Power Rankings. More importantly, those results have moved the Lions into 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, and they are knocking on the door of the playoff picture. Orlando City will need to continue on this trajectory if the season is to be salvaged. Hopefully, this is the time of the season when Facundo Torres catches proverbial fire.

Pride Make Headlines

We here at The Mane Land have covered the Orlando Pride through the bad and now through the good. Now, the Pride are so good that the team is getting noticed elsewhere. The contributions of Barbra Banda and Marta are a big reason for that. The Pride are battling for the top spot with the Kansas City Current, with a showdown between the two powerhouses set for July 6. ESPN has the two teams steady, with the Current on top of its power rankings and the Pride sitting in the second spot. Banda is also in a race with Sophia Smith for the Golden Boot, with both players currently on 10 goals.

OCB in Action Tonight

Orlando City B takes on Atlanta United 2 tonight in what feels like an important match for the Young Lions. OCB will be without defender Abdi Salim as he has been loaned out to Detroit City FC, and others are on international duty or with the senior team. The Young Lions have won their last two matches against the Baby Five Stripes, or should they be called the Two-And-A-Half Stripes? Regardless, there will still be plenty to watch in this MLS NextPro match.

Copa America Rolls On

Pedro Gallese and Wilder Cartagena both got the start for Peru in a 1-0 loss to Canada and former Lions Cyle Larin, Richie Laryea, and Kamal Miller. Peru was playing a man down after Miguel Araujo was shown a red card in the 59th minute. The match also saw a linesman collapse from the heat and be taken off by the medical staff.

The USMNT is back in action on Thursday against Panama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Yanks have a winning record against Panama, and a win over Panama will go a long way to helping the U.S. advance since there is a match against Uruguay still to come. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the match.

Euros Entertain as Group Stage Nears End

The UEFA European Championship matches were a mixed bag on Tuesday. France and Poland played to a 1-1 draw, meaning France placed second in the group behind Austria. Kylian Mbappé scored first for France on a penalty kick, but Robert Lewandowski evened the match with his own penalty kick goal to earn a point for Poland. Speaking of Austria, it earned first place in Group D with a 3-2 victory over the Netherlands. I don’t think anyone had Austria beating the Netherlands, let alone topping the group, on their bingo cards, but here we are.

The later matches were not nearly as fun to watch, with England and Slovenia playing to a 0-0 draw. The other match was equally exciting, as Denmark and Serbia also played to a 0-0 draw. Despite the results, England, Denmark, and Slovenia all advance to the knockout round, with England topping the group.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City President of Business Operations Jarrod Dillon will appear on the fourth episode of Boating with Brandon, a 10-part video series hosted by Osceola County Commissioner Brandon Arrington.
• The USMNT will play friendlies against Canada, New Zealand, and Panama this fall.

• Portland Thorns and USWNT midfielder Olivia Moultrie is out due to injury. As such, she is unlikely to make the Olympic roster.
• Brazilian fans are mad after Brazil’s 0-0 draw with Costa Rica. They now agree with Ronaldinho’s pre-tournament assessment of the squad.
• Much to the consternation of many Manchester United supporters — and the joy of other club’s supporters — Erik ten Hag is set to sign a new contract for Manchester United.

• Keep your eyes peeled for the USWNT Olympic roster dropping today.

• Finally, congratulations to the Pride’s Cori Dyke on receiving the Big Ten Medal of Honor.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City match this Friday and the Orlando Pride match on Sunday. Don’t forget to check out the OCB match later tonight as well. Vamos Orlando!

It was a good weekend to be an Orlando soccer fan as the Orlando Pride and Orlando City combined to score 10 goals in the team’s two games, while taking all six points. Things aren’t going to slow down this week, as all three of Orlando’s teams are in action, and the United States Men’s National Team will play its second match of Copa America. Let’s jump into today’s links.

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

A pair of Lions were rightfully rewarded for their performances in Orlando City’s 4-2 win over the Chicago Fire with a place in the MLS Team of the Matchday. Facundo Torres gets the nod in the midfield, while Mason Stajduhar was chosen between the sticks. Torres hit a pair of missiles from distance to spark OCSC’s offense to its highest goal output of the season. Stajduhar’s 10 saves tied a club record while helping the Lions get over the line with all three points secured. Nic Josey gave Stajduhar and Torres an 8 and 8.5 out of 10, respectively, in his player grades from the match‘, and it’s nice to see the duo get the recognition they deserve. Here’s hoping there’s more to come.

Brianna Martinez Signs New Contract

The Orlando Pride announced they have signed defender Brianna Martinez to a new two-year contract. That means she’ll be at the club through the end of the 2025 season, as the Pride got their business done early and ensured it has one less item to take care of in the off-season. Martinez has played in 12 games this season, starting in nine of them, so Orlando is locking up a developing player, who’s been an important part of the team’s success this season.

Californian Coaching Carousel Keeps Spinning

Coaching is a profession with no room for sentimentality, as was proven on Monday when a pair of California teams parted ways with their skippers. First up, the San Jose Earthquakes are comfortably the worst team in Major League Soccer, and club leadership decided to make a change by firing Luchi Gonzalez. Considering the Earthquakes are on 11 points through 19 games, with 51 goals conceded, it’s hard to argue with the decision. On the other hand, unless ownership invests more in the squad, simply changing the coach likely won’t make enough of a difference. Regardless, Ian Russell has been named interim coach, and faces a tough task in trying to reverse San Jose’s fortunes.

Moving down the coast by a few hundred miles, the San Diego Wave executed a much more shocking move by firing Casey Stoney. After 14 matches, the Wave are just one point outside a playoff position, but they’ve also scored a paltry 12 goals and haven’t won a game since beating the league-worst Utah Royals 2-0 all the way back on May 8. Winning the NWSL Shield last year and making a semifinal playoff appearance in each of the team’s first two seasons weren’t enough to keep her at the helm, and she’s been replaced by Paul Buckle as interim coach.

Euro & Copa America Updates

It was another exciting day of action in both Euro 2024 and Copa America play, so let’s catch up on everything that took place. In the Euros, Spain grabbed an early goal from Ferran Torres and coasted to a comfortable 1-0 win over an Albanian side that gave a good account of itself at the tournament. Spain won all three of its group games and advanced atop of Group B. Meanwhile, Croatia looked sure to advance in second place thanks to a goal from Luka Modric, but Italian substitute Mattia Zaccagni scored a beautiful curler with the last kick of the game to level the match at 1-1, break Croatian hearts, and send Italy through with four points to Croatia’s two.

Moving stateside, James Rodriguez pulled the strings for Colombia as a sea of yellow in Houston cheered Los Cafeteros to a 2-1 win over Paraguay. Rodriguez had two first-half assists to propel Colombia to its ninth straight win across all competitions. In the later game, Brazil and Costa Rica battled to a physical 0-0 draw in Los Angeles. Brazil had 73% of possession, and took 19 shots to Costa Rica’s two, but only put three shots on target and ultimately couldn’t find a way past Patrick Sequeira.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City has officially announced Abdi Salim’s loan to Detroit City FC, and it will be through the end of the 2024 season.
• The Pride dropped one place to second in CBS Sports‘ NWSL power rankings.
• Orlando City rose three places to 18th in ESPNs MLS power rankings.
• The Pride are one of five teams in NWSL history to have more than 30 points through 14 games.

• Sporting Kansas City has parted ways with Brian Bliss, the team’s technical director.
• Gregg Berhalter hailed Christian Pulisic’s leadership in the United States Men’s National Team’s 2-0 win over Bolivia.

That’s all I have for you today. Vamos Orlando!

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’m just staying busy at Under Armour all weekend, returning to my footwear lead manager role and catching some of the Euro and Copa America matches. Both the Lions and the Pride won over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links. 

Lions Defeat Chicago Fire at Home

Orlando City snapped its five-match winless streak Saturday, defeating the Chicago Fire 4-2 at Inter&Co Stadium. Facundo Torres scored twice, and Luis Muriel and Ivan Angulo added one each to offset Chicago’s two goals in a much-needed victory. It was only the second home win for the Lions this season. Chicago saw its four-match unbeaten streak end and moved to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with 18 points. Orlando moved up to 10th with 21 points. The Lions will be on the road again Friday to take on New York City FC at Yankee Stadium.

OCSC Center Back Abdi Salim Joins Detroit City on Loan

USL Championship side Detroit City FC has apparently reached a loan agreement with Orlando City to have center back Abdi Salim join the team. The loan was reported Saturday by Nolan Bianchi and, although there has been no official word from Orlando City, Salim played for Detroit City Saturday night in a friendly against Pumas of Liga MX.

Salim was not only in the starting XI on Saturday, but he also scored the lone goal to win the match 1-0. In case you missed it, check out Salim’s header and back flip celebration:

Pride Cruise at Home Against Utah Royals

The Orlando Pride returned to their winning ways Friday with a dominating performance at Inter&Co Stadium in a club-record, 6-0 victory against the Utah Royals. Barbra Banda and Marta each scored twice, while Summer Yates and Ally Watt added goals in a big win for the Pride, extending Orlando’s unbeaten streak to 14 matches. After this weekend’s results, Orlando and the Kansas City Current are tied with 32 points, but Kansas City’s 4-1 beatdown of the Thorns in Portland has the Current in the top spot on goal differential. The Pride will be on the road Sunday to face Angel City FC at BMO Stadium.

USMNT Beats Bolivia in Copa America Opener

The United States Men’s National Team won its Copa America opener 2-0 against Bolivia at AT&T Stadium on Sunday. Christian Pulisic scored for the USMNT and added an assist on Folarin Balogun’s goal late in the first half. For Pulisic, it was his 30th career goal for his country in 69 international appearances. Tyler Adams made his first start for club or country since March 30 and played 45 minutes. Even though the USMNT couldn’t add more goals in the second half, the Americans did enough to take all three points. The USMNT will play Panama Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Euro 2024 Roundup

It was another busy weekend of action in the Euros, as eight matches took place over the weekend. On Friday, Ukraine overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat Slovakia 2-1 to stay alive in the tournament. Austria bounced back with a 3-1 win against Poland. France and the Netherlands split the points in a scoreless draw, which resulted in Poland becoming the first team to be eliminated from Euro 2024. On Saturday, Georgia and the Czech Republic battled to a 1-1 draw. Portugal clinched a spot into the round of 16 with a 3-0 victory over Turkey, and Belgium rebounded with a 2-0 win against Romania. On Sunday, Hungary grabbed a late winning goal to eliminate Scotland 1-0 and still has a chance to move on to the round of 16. Switzerland held a 1-0 lead into stoppage time, but Niclas Fullkrug equalized to snatch a 1-1 draw for Germany at the death, winning Group A. Both teams advanced to the round of 16. Today’s matches will wrap up play in Group B as Albania faces Spain and Croatia takes on Italy.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese started in Peru’s Copa America opener against Chile Friday. Both teams got a point after a scoreless draw. Peru will play Canada tomorrow at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City.

• Mexico defeated Jamaica 1-0 in its Copa America opener over the weekend. However, Edson Alvarez left the pitch with an injury during the first half and will undergo testing to determine his status before the match against Venezuela on Wednesday.
• San Diego FC is reportedly set to announce former LAFC and Toronto FC head coach Bob Bradley as its head coach to lead the club in its inaugural season in 2025.
• Espanyol earned promotion back to La Liga after a 2-1 aggregate win over Real Oviedo over two legs in the La Liga promotion playoff final.

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