We have a quick turnaround this week as Orlando City played one of its two remaining midweek matches on Wednesday, and came away with a comfortable 2-0 win over Charlotte FC. If the Lions want to keep the good vibes going on Saturday, they’ll need to beat one of the toughest teams in the league and do so on the road, as they travel up to Ohio to face the defending champion Columbus Crew.

A showdown with Columbus means I spoke to Caleb Denorme, one of the writers over at the always excellent Massive Report. Caleb was very helpful in getting us up to speed on this year’s edition of the Crew, and we appreciate his help.

Columbus has the best defense in the league by a comfortable margin. What’s made the back line so good this year?

Caleb Denorme: I think it’s a combination of finally learning the system and the development of the players at the position. Steven Moreira and Rudy Camacho are already experienced
defenders that you can throw into any starting roster in MLS. It took time for them to
adapt to Nancy’s system, but it is evident now that they have taken it in stride. The
development side is something that needs to be talked about too. Both Max Arfsten and
Mo Farsi are products of MLS NEXT Pro and have become no-contest starters at both
wingback spots. Yevhen Cheberko has improved as well, fighting for time with Malte
Amundsen, who was one of the Crew’s best players last season. So, the combination of
having time to learn Nancy’s system and giving these young players time to develop has
been massive.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Crew also has one of the best attacks in MLS. Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi get a ton of the headlines, but who are some other guys that help make the attack what it is?

CD: Obviously Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi are the spearhead of the attack. Hernandez
is going to do his thing regardless, and Rossi has really proved a lot of Columbus fans
wrong after he had a slow start when he first arrived. A lot of praise has to go to the
wingbacks as well. The rotation of Farsi, Arfsten, DeJuan Jones, Yaw Yeboah, and
Marcelo Herrera have added a new dimension to the attack that did not exist before. The
ability of each wingback to whip accurate crosses in to Hernandez and Rossi and cut in
when necessary is a dangerous asset to have. They also cause the opposing defense to be
stretched, which creates more room for the attackers inside. If there is one thing opposing
teams do not want, it’s Cucho Hernandez having more space inside the box.

Despite playing a metric ton of games this year, Columbus’ form has shown no signs of dipping due to fatigue and match load. Is there any concern that the packed schedule will eventually take its toll, or does Wilfried Nancy seem to have struck the perfect balance of navigating the busy calendar?

CD: The Crew have been the one team in recent memory who went far in the Concacaf
Champions Cup and did not crash and burn in league play. I think most of the praise has
to be put on the Columbus front office and Nancy himself. Issa Tall (and Tim
Bezbatchenko) did a phenomenal job constructing this roster. The Crew’s roster is the
perfect balance of spending for DPs, investing in young talent and getting high
performance out of MLS veterans. There is not a distinct position group that comes to
mind as “weak” when you think of Columbus, and that is thanks to the front office. On
the other hand, Nancy has done his job as well. Getting the right team in place is one
thing, but it takes a talented coach to take those players and get them to perform
consistently. Nancy has found the balance where he can plug a player in, and they
perform up to the task almost every single time. It’s a masterclass combination of
coaching and front office moves.

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

CD: The only player listed on the injury report is Evan Bush, who has missed a large part of
the season with a broken arm.

As long as nothing happens midweek (knock on wood) against Toronto FC, expect a strong Columbus lineup against Orlando. Those decisions will depend on what lineup Nancy goes with against Toronto. If it’s a rotated lineup midweek, the Black & Gold will roll out the starters at the weekend. I think Patrick Schulte will be between the posts, with Moreira, Camacho and Amundsen at the center back spots. I’d say Arfsten and Farsi will start out wide, with Sean Zawadzki and Darlington Nagbe in the middle. Front three will most likely be headed by Hernandez, Rossi and Christian Ramirez. Be on the lookout for what happens midweek though, because that will determine what the Crew go with on Saturday. (Editor’s note: The Crew rotated somewhat at Toronto and will likely play their strongest lineup.)

Score prediction not provided.

Thank you to Caleb for the excellent insight on Columbus. Vamos Orlando!

Happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but September has been flying by for me. I’m working throughout most of the weekend, but I am looking forward to catching a few games from a packed slate of soccer over the next few days. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando Pride rookie Cori Dyke!

Facundo Torres Makes Team of the Matchday

Orlando City forward Facundo Torres was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for his role in the team’s 2-0 win over Charlotte FC. The 24-year-old scored on the volley to give the Lions the lead and also had three key passes to keep Orlando’s offense cooking. He’s been on fire as of late, scoring four goals over the past three games. I’m a bit surprised not to see other Lions at least make the bench of this Team of the Matchday, particularly with Martin Ojeda and Robin Jansson providing strong performances.

Orlando Pride Take On Bay FC Tonight

I hope you all got plenty of rest last night, because the Orlando Pride have a 10:30 p.m. match on the road tonight against Bay FC. It’s the second match between the two teams this season, with Orlando winning 1-0 at home on May 11. Bay FC turned a corner in the time since that match, climbing up to eighth in the standings. This will also be the Pride’s first trip to Paypal Park to take on the expansion team. Pride forward Julie Doyle, who was born in California and played four seasons at Santa Clara University, spoke on how she’s excited to play in the Bay area again. She also weighed in on how the Pride’s defense has extended beyond the back line during this impressive season.

USMNT Goals for 2026 World Cup Revealed

United States Men’s National Team Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino stated that the aim is for the U.S. to make the quarterfinals when it hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“The truth is the quarterfinal is the target,” the head coach said on an episode of the It’s Called Soccer podcast. “They were very clear and I am very honest to you and I think that was the idea, the challenge. They know that it is going to be difficult but I am a person and we are people that really, really believe that we can. We all think that the talented group can perform better and we accept the challenge.”

With the expanded format that includes 48 teams, the U.S. would need to advance out of the group stage and win twice in the knockout stage to reach the quarterfinals. Pochettino has plenty to do to get the team firing on all cylinders before then. Copa America exposed some of the USMNT’s struggles in the midfield, and the new head coach will need to figure out who will spearhead the attack as well.

Champions League Opening Round Wraps Up

The first round of Champions League matches in this new format concluded on Thursday. AS Monaco had a big 2-1 win over Barcelona, with 18-year-old striker George Ilenikhena scoring the winner in his Champions League debut. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal scored his first Champions League goal as well, but the Spanish club couldn’t overcome a red card to Eric Garcia just 10 minutes into the match.

Jose Gimenez scored a late winner to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win against RB Leipzig in Spain. Bayer Leverkusen cruised to a 4-0 win over Feyenoord, with 21-year-old striker Florian Wirtz scoring twice in the first half. Benfica also kicked off its Champions League campaign with a win, beating Red Star Belgrade 2-1 in Serbia. French club Brest got its first European competition win by winning 2-1 against Austria’s Sturm Graz. Arsenal and Atalanta fought to a scoreless draw in Italy, with Arsenal’s David Raya making a showstopping pair of saves to deny Mateo Retegui from the spot.

Free Kicks

• Former Orlando Pride player Thais Reiss has torn her ACL and MCL in training with Spokane Zephyr FC in the USL Super League. It’s unfortunate news, and hopefully she’s able to make a smooth recovery.

• Neither of Orlando City’s goals against Charlotte FC on Wednesday were nominated for MLS Goal of the Matchday, but that’s a testament to just how many great goals were scored in the midweek. Anderson Julio’s goal from downtown for Real Salt Lake is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already.

• Here’s a nice breakdown of the MLS Golden Boot race, which has been close throughout the season and could come down to Decision Day on Oct. 19. Christian Benteke currently holds a two-goal lead over Chicho Arango, Denis Bouanga, and Luis Suárez.
• Just two days after losing 9-2 to Bayern Munich, Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb fired Sergej Jakirović as its manager.

That’s all I have for you today, Mane Landers. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

Orlando City played a third straight game at home and picked up a third clean sheet win, beating Charlotte FC 2-0 in a match that ended up being a pretty comfortable affair for the men in purple. Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire got on the scoresheet again, the defense played lights out, an the Lions picked up all three points.

Let’s have a look at how the individuals performed in Wednesday night’s victory.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — It was a fairly quiet night in between the sticks for El Pulpo. Charlotte took four shots but only put two of them on target, both of which were placed comfortably close to Gallese, and were saved with no problem. At 72%, his passing accuracy could have been better, although he also completed two long balls and even picked up the secondary assist on McGuire’s goal. All in all, a nice, easy night’s work.

D, Rafael Santos, 6.5 — He was given the chance to try to replicate his stunning goal from the weekend, but Charlotte was wise to it and his shot was blocked. That was the only one the fullback took, but he also chipped in with two crosses and two long balls going forward. He had an excellent defensive night with a game-high four tackles, three clearances, one interception, and 91% passing accuracy. He’s been putting in vastly improved performances lately after a shaky start to the season, and Wednesday night was no exception.

D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 — Charlotte rarely threatened OCSC’s goal, and the Beefy Swede was a big reason why. He put in a composed and commanding performance at the back, and helped snuff out the few dangerous moments that the visitors did muster. He totaled four interceptions and five clearances, both of which were game highs, drew two fouls, and completed five long balls while passing with 89% accuracy. He did have a scary moment in the first half when he committed a silly turnover in his own half, but other than that it was the kind of performance we’re used to seeing.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Schlegel’s performance complemented Jansson’s perfectly. He stepped into the spaces the captain vacated the few times he ventured forward and did a good job marshalling his side of the back line. He recorded two tackles, one interception, three clearances, and eight long balls while passing with 93% accuracy. He’s another guy who’s been playing a lot better after having some difficult moments during the first few months of the season, and Wednesday was an example of what he can look like when he’s on form.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — DDT provided exactly the sort of performance that won him the starting right back role, as he was steady, didn’t make mistakes, and combined well with Torres going forward, even though it didn’t show up on the stat sheet. He finished with one tackle, three clearances, four long balls, and 83% passing accuracy. He gets a black mark for picking up a yellow card, but frankly it was a soft one, so it’s hard to hold it against him too much.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Cesar did exactly what we’ve come to expect from him, as he ran a lot, did the dirty work in midfield, and took care of the ball. He even took a shot, which isn’t something you see every day, although it was blocked and didn’t come to anything. He recorded one interception, one clearance, drew a whopping seven fouls, completed eight long balls, passed with 87% accuracy, and committed two fouls of his own. The biggest downside of his performance was picking up a yellow card, which means he’ll be suspended for this weekend’s trip to Columbus due to accumulation.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 7 — The Peruvian isn’t exactly known for his goal scoring, but he really should have gotten things started in the fourth minute when the ball found him in the box with a clear shooting lane. He blasted the ball directly at Kristijan Kahlina though, and the chance went wanting. He played a good game otherwise though, helping Araujo control the midfield and distributing the ball well. He finished with two tackles, one clearance, two completed dribbles, three fouls drawn, three fouls committed, four long balls, and 89% passing accuracy.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — His game isn’t well-suited to opponents who put men behind the ball and bunker, but he still had good moments on offense. He did well to steal the ball and start the break with 20 minutes played, and while nothing came of it that time, he played a smart pass to find Martin Ojeda in the second half and picked up the secondary assist on the opening goal as a result. He finished with two tackles, two shots that were both blocked, one completed dribble, one foul drawn, and 94% passing accuracy.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 7.5 — As has usually been the case lately, Ojeda was involved in a lot of what Orlando City did well. His Olimpico attempt landing on the roof of the net was a moment to forget, but he did a lot of creative work from open play, particularly when drifting out towards the left side of the field. That’s the area that he ultimately created the goal from, as he made a nice diagonal run into space, kept his head up after receiving the ball from Angulo, and then played a perfectly weighted ball to the back post for Facundo Torres to smash home. His night finished with two fouls committed and a yellow card, one shot that was blocked, two key passes, one assist, three crosses, and 92% passing accuracy.

MF, Facundo Torres, 7.5 (MotM) — Another game brought another goal for Orlando’s main man, and it really could, and probably should, have been two. Headers aren’t a strong point of the little Uruguayan’s game, but he’s scored them before and he should have done better with the free one that he got in the first half. He made up for it with a venomous volley in the second though, and he once again was a source of danger throughout the game. He got a well-deserved bit of rest with a substitution as the game wound down, and his final stat line read three shots (one on target and two off target), one goal, one interception, one clearance, one foul committed, one foul drawn, three key passes, one long ball, and 80% passing accuracy. He gets the Man of the Match award, although there were several worthy candidates in this one.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 5.5 — It was a pretty quiet night for the Argentine, as he only recorded 11 touches during the 45 minutes he was on the field. His biggest moment of involvement came during the 20th minute. The Lions broke down the left hand side and Ojeda found Enrique on the edge of the box with a great pass, but the striker’s first touch was far too heavy and he lost possession of the ball. Like Angulo, this type of game doesn’t really play to his strengths, and it showed.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (45’), 7 — Dunc entered the fray after the halftime break, and put in an efficient 45 minutes. He actually had fewer touches than Enrique as he finished with seven, but it’s what he did with those touches that made all the difference. He took his goal superbly, timing his run to perfection and splitting the Charlotte center backs with ease before executing a textbook chip to beat Kahlina and double the Lions’ lead. His run pulled plenty of Charlotte’s attention away from Torres on the back side of goal on the first Orlando City strike. He finished with 83% passing accuracy, one foul committed, one clearance, one goal, and two shots (one on target, one off target). The only improvement could have come if he’d scored on his second chance of the game, a free (albeit tricky) header.

MF, Nicolas Lodeiro (63′), 6.5 — On as a second half sub for Martin Ojeda, Lodeiro offered a different look going forward than his South American counterpart. He did an excellent job taking care of the ball as he delivered all 11 of his passes accurately, and provided a key pass and a long ball as well. He took one shot which was blocked, and chipped in on defense with a tackle and an interception.

D, Kyle Smith (79′), N/A — Smith came on for Dagur Dan to give the Icelandic defender a rest and help close out the game. He turned in a steady performance and completed 80% of his passes but didn’t record any other statistics. He didn’t spend enough time on the field to earn a grade.

F, Luis Muriel (82′), N/A — Muriel entered the game to give Angulo some rest, and managed to be pretty involved during his short time on the field. On defense, he chipped in with one tackle and committed one foul, and also picked up a silly yellow card for kicking the ball away. Going forward, he completed one dribble, accurately delivered all eight of his passes, completed one key pass, and notched an assist on McGuire’s goal. He did so by bringing down Gallese’s goal kick, and played an excellent through ball to Dunc with his second touch to put his fellow striker through on goal. If Orlando can get regular goal contributions from him, it adds another dimension to an already dangerous offense.

MF, Luca Petrasso (82′), N/A — Petrasso made his first appearance of the season when he came on for Torres, as Oscar Pareja looked to simultaneously give his star man some rest while also closing down the game. Playing winger instead of fullback, Petrasso committed one foul, completed one cross, and accurately delivered the one pass he made, which was also a key pass. He was unlucky to not pick up an assist on that pass, as he picked out a great back-post ball for McGuire, who couldn’t put his stooped header in the back of the net.

That’s how I viewed the performances from another nice win by the good guys. What did you make of the game? Have your say down in the comments and be sure to vote for your Man of the Match. Vamos Orlando!