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Lion Links: 6/17/20

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6 years ago

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Hello, Mane Landers. I hope everyone is doing well now that we’re halfway to the weekend. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and catching up on school projects. I did make some time yesterday to get some exercise and catch up with friends, but I’m excited to see the Premier League’s return as we get closer to Major League Soccer coming back. Now, on to the links.

Orlando City Continues Preparation

The Lions continued their training yesterday as Nani and co get ready to return. We are now three weeks away from Orlando City SC facing Inter Miami CF on July 8 in the MLS is Back Tournament.

Oscar Pareja also shared his thoughts on training, saying, “I’m very excited that the players are able to train in normal form.” Oscar also mentioned that having the full team training will help simulate real game conditions and he has no doubt that the boys will be ready.

NWSL Releases Challenge Cup Schedule

The National Women’s Soccer League released details for the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup schedule to be played in Utah later this month. The Orlando Pride will play three 10 p.m. games and one weekday match at 12:30 p.m. Here is the Pride’s upcoming schedule for the Challenge Cup.

  • Sat. June 27, 10 p.m. – vs. Chicago Red Stars (CBS All Access)
  • Wed. July 1, 12:30 p.m. – vs. Portland Thorns (CBS All Access)
  • Sun. July 5, 10 p.m. – vs. North Carolina Courage (CBS All Access)
  • Thurs. July 9, 10 p.m. – vs. Sky Blue FC (CBS All Access)

The Pride’s tournament slate includes last year’s NWSL runners-up Chicago, back-to-back NWSL champions North Carolina Courage, the Portland Thorns — who won the NWSL title in 2017 — and a much-improved Sky Blue FC squad. The first game to kickoff the Challenge Cup will be between North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns and will be broadcast on CBS and CBS All Access.

Ali Krieger Confident Pride will Improve

Despite the Orlando Pride getting the toughest draw in the NWSL Challenge Cup, Ali Krieger isn’t concerned and feels the Pride can beat the best teams in the tournament.

“In order to be the best, you have to beat every team, so I’m willing to play the best teams there because we want to be the champions and we want to compete,” Krieger said. “Any team on any given day can win in this league and that’s what so exciting about this league and what’s so attractive about the league — is that the games are always really close and that’s something that we can look forward to. “We have a new focus and a new mentality this year and we’re ready to win. And it doesn’t matter who is going to be in our way, we’re going to take one game at a time, one opponent at a time and focus on each day just individually and hopefully be successful.”

Krieger said the club has improved dramatically since the team struggled through much of last season and finished at the bottom of the league standings. With video conference calls during the quarantine, she said the players have bought in during training and that working on the small details will make a difference for the Pride this time around.

Eric Lichaj on the Market

Former United States Men’s National Team defender Eric Lichaj will be looking for a new club after Hull City announced that the team will not be extending its captain’s contract after the end of this month. The 31-year-old will not play in the club’s remaining nine games in the EFL Championship this season and would be eligible to play in the MLS is Back Tournament if a club decides to sign him. Lichaj was with the Chicago Fire FC youth and PDL team before leaving to sign with Aston Villa in 2007. He’s had other stints in Europe as well, with Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, and Hull City. Which club do you think would be the best fit for Lichaj in MLS?

Canadian Championship Update

While the U.S. Soccer Federation’s U.S. Open Cup tournament remains on hold, Canada Soccer announced the Canadian Championship will be played this year. The tournament will consist of 11 teams with the three Canadian MLS teams (Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps, and Toronto FC) and all eight Canadian Premier League Clubs. The two amateur clubs that did qualify, AS Blainville and Toronto Master’s FA, will not participate this year and will instead play in the 2021 Canadian Championship. Canada Soccer has not announced the new dates or the tournament format yet. The 2020 Canadian Championship was originally set to begin on June 16, but Canada Soccer postponed the tournament in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City SC congratulated Santiago Patino on social media for becoming a United States citizen.

  • Former MLS speedster Alphonso Davies broke a Bundesliga record for fastest sprint, as he reached 22.7 mph. Although Davies was later sent off with a red card, FC Bayern Munich defeated Werder Bremen 1-0 and clinched their eighth Bundesliga title.

  • There were rumors that Miguel Herrera could be coaching in MLS someday but Club America announced that he has signed a contract extension to remain with the Mexican side. He went on to express interest in a potential move to Europe but would not likely take a job in MLS.
  • The Premier League will allow walk-on music for substitutes coming onto the pitch and somebody thinks this would be a good idea in MLS. What do you think? What would be your walk-on song?

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Stay healthy, be safe, and I’ll see you next time.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/12/26

Orlando City’s Leagues Cup continues, Orlando Pride head to Portland, OCB defeated again, and more.

Published

38 minutes ago

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August 12, 2026

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Image of Robin Jansson, Tyrese Spicer, and Ivan Angulo celebrating Spicer's goal against Nashville.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s Leagues Cup match day, and I’m sure you’re as excited as I am, right? Right?!? Despite it being a money grab of a tournament in which the Lions are unlikely to advance, it is at least an opportunity to watch the team we support, and as such, I will be watching. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Hosts San Luis to Close First Leagues Cup Phase

Orlando City faces Atlético de San Luis tonight at Inter.co Stadium in the team’s third Leagues Cup match. If the Lions are to advance, the team will need to win the match and get some help from other teams in the tournament if they are to advance. As I said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I hope Orlando City smartly focuses on the upcoming regular-season match against FC Cincinnati. Sadly, I believe that won’t be the case, so you can expect the team to play a mixture of starters and subs.

Pride Proceed to Portland’s Providence Park

The Orlando Pride travel across the country to take on the Portland Thorns Saturday evening. The Pride are coming off a 3-1 loss to Racing Louisville, and let’s just say that the metrics were not good. As if bad form and traveling across the nation were not enough, the Thorns will be holding a celebration for former Portland and USWNT defender Meghan Klingenberg prior to the match. I don’t think the Thorns needed any extra motivation, but there it is.

Orlando City B Defeated…Again

Orlando City B continued its slide down the MLS NEXT Pro table after losing 3-0 to New York City FC II. With so many Young Lions covering for injuries with the first team, OCB Head Coach Eddie Wilding made five changes to the starting lineup. There were also four academy players who made their professional debuts. NYCFC II scored two goals in the the first 13 minutes and added a third in the second half. OCB will face Chicago Fire FC II on the road Saturday.

NWSL Accolades

If you didn’t watch other NWSL matches after being demoralized by how the Pride played Friday, I won’t blame you. That being said, there were matches played and things happened in those matches. I believe that Kerry Abello should have been up for Goal of the Week, but alas she wasn’t and instead the honor went to Ashley Sanchez from the North Carolina Courage. Don’t get me wrong it was a good goal, but Abello’s shot was better.

Anna Moorhouse was never in the discussion for Save of the Week. Instead it was won by Portland’s Mackenzie Arnold.

Arnold also won Assist of the Week on Pietra Tordin’s second goal.

Finally, Tordin won Player of the Week for her hat trick against Boston Legacy FC. She gets to face the Pride’s defense and Moorhouse on Saturday night.

Leaving her mark ⭐️Pietra Tordin is your Player of the Week presented by AT&T!

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2026-08-11T17:33:02.135Z

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That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for match updates and we will also have a recap of the match. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 8/11/26

Leagues Cup preview, Americans in midweek action, open letter addressing Gianni Infantino, and more.

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1 day ago

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August 11, 2026

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but fortunately, opportunities to change the vibes are right around the corner. Orlando City B plays NYCFC II in a few hours, Orlando City plays San Luis tomorrow and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, and the Orlando Pride are in action against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night as well. We’ve got lots to talk over this morning, so let’s get into it.

Leagues Cup Preview

Leagues Cup will begin its final round of group stage games later today, and there are several storylines to keep an eye on. Most prominent among them is the match between Austin FC and Club America, as each team currently sits first in its respective table. Myrto Uzuni’s hat trick helped Austin bury Puebla in its second match, and the Verde and Black are now in great position to advance. Before we get to that match on Thursday though, FC Cincinnati plays Atlas this evening to kick off the last round of games. Cincy sits fourth in the MLS table and therefore has plenty to play for, while Atlas has no points and has already been eliminated from contention. With Cincy visiting the City Beautiful on Saturday, Orlando fans should be hoping for FCC’s key players to rack up a lot of minutes tonight.

Americans in Midweek Action

Plenty of Americans will be taking part in matches during the working week, so make sure you’ve got everything noted down on your calendar. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon kick things off later today as they try to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit against Sparta Prague in UEFA Champions Leauge qualifying. Things continue with Brenden Aaronson and Leeds playing Manchester United in a friendly on Wednesday, while Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen have a friendly of their own against Nottingham Forest. Things wrap up with some American-on-American violence on Friday, as Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Marseille in a friendly, while Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Haji Wright and Coventry in a tune-up game.

Confederations Write Letter Criticizing Gianni Infantino

Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC have written a joint open letter soccer as a whole, in which they accuse FIFA president Gianni Infantino of betraying the trust of the confederations and engaging in deceptive practices. They condemned the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and called both FIFA’s integrity and Infantino’s running of the organization into question. U.S. Soccer put out its own statement on Sunday in support of Concacaf’s stance. The letter also urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, while calling for accountability and openness among Infantino and the rest of FIFA’s leadership.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

There are plenty of transfer rumors to catch up on this morning, so let’s get straight into it. We start in England, where Crystal Palace is reportedly finalizing the signing of Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. In Spain, Atletico Madrid has reportedly submitted an offer in the area of €35 million to Lille for winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Meanwhile, Endrick will supposedly be staying at Real Madrid this season following discussions between himself, the club, and Head Coach Jose Mourinho. Barcelona ha reportedly rejected a €50 million offer for Ferran Torres from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Catalonian club wants the fee to be structured differently than PSG’s initial proposal. Finally, in a rather unexpected bit of news, Tom Bogert reports that CF Montreal is signing Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player.

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

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Lion Links: 8/10/26

Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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August 10, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic dribbling the ball in the attack against Atlanta.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and getting ready to cover high school sports again soon. Let’s wish a belated happy birthday to former Lion Alex Freeman, who turned 22 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to former Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja, who turns 58 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Fall to Club Leon in Leagues Cup

Orlando City fell 2-1 to Club Leon at home in the second matchday of the 2026 Leagues Cup on Saturday. Marco Pasalic scored for the Lions in the first half as Orlando took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Club Leon overturned the one-goal deficit, responding with goals from Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila to take a 2-1 lead as the Liga MX side edged the Lions for the win. Orlando City will be back at home on Wednesday to face Atletico de San Luis to close out the first phase of Leagues Cup.

Pride Winless Skid Continues with Loss to Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC at home on Friday as the club continues to slide down the NWSL table and has lost back-to-back league matches. Louisville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Emma Sears scored twice to give Louisville a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Kerry Abello scored for the Pride to avoid the shutout, but Louisville secured its third win in its last four games. Meanwhile, Orlando has lost four out of its last five matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, taking on the Portland Thorns.

Americans Abroad

Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske started and played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team against Mexico in the Concacaf U-20 Championships. The U.S. fell 2-0 to Mexico in the final on Sunday. Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made their debuts for Middlesbrough in Round 1 of the Carabao Cup against Wrexham on Friday. Berhalter notched an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 to advance to the second round. Ricardo Pepi started and played 80 minutes for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Austin Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were both in action for Celtic in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Latest MLS Transfer Roundup

The LA Galaxy have been busy making moves of late, signing former FC Barcelona and Como midfielder Sergi Roberto to a contract through June 2028 with an option for the 2028-2029 season. The Galaxy added winger Chucky Lozano from San Diego FC on loan through the end of the season and reached an agreement to transfer midfielder Edwin Cerrillo to Liga MX side Club America. Atlanta United has acquired midfielder Mauricio Amaro from Uruguayan top flight club Defensor Sporting. Amaro will be under contract through the 2028-2029 season with an option for 2029-2030. San Diego FC announced on Saturday that the club has transferred defender Andres Reyes to Atletico Nacional in Colombia.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, scored his first goal in the USL Championship over the weekend.
  • Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored for Malawi, which defeated Ghana 2-1 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
  • Nigeria fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, resulting in Cameroon qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria will face South Africa on Thursday in a play-in match to qualify for the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
  • Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed in a documentary that he had signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, but later backed out of the deal and decided to return to Chelsea after his first stint at Real Madrid.

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

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