Happy Wednesday, everyone! You’ve made it to the middle of the week, and everything is all downhill from here. We’ve got a bit of time before Orlando City returns to action, and it’ll be even longer before the Orlando Pride take the field again. But with the MLS Cup playoffs already underway, the UEFA Champions League returning, and the rest of the soccer world continuing on as usual, we have more than enough to talk about today. Let’s get into the links.

MLS Wild Card Round Starts

The first of two MLS wild card games took place on Tuesday evening, with Atlanta United going on the road and taking down CF Montreal on penalty kicks. The hosts clawed back from a two-goal deficit and pressed hard for a late winner but ultimately couldn’t find one. Brad Guzan then saved Tom Pearce’s penalty, Atlanta converted all five of its spot kicks, and that was enough to send the Five Stripes through to the next round against Inter Miami. At 10:30 p.m. today, attention turns to the Western Conference, when the Vancouver Whitecaps will face the Portland Timbers. The two sides played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 28, but Portland got the better of the Whitecaps back on June 22 in a 2-0 win that saw Vancouver play most of the second half with 10 men. The winner of tonight’s match earns a trip to play LAFC on Sunday.

Citi Field Will Host NYCFC

We got confirmation on Tuesday that New York City FC will play its first-round home game against FC Cincinnati at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. NYCFC has been splitting time this year between that venue, Yankee Stadium, and even Red Bull Arena on occasion, and with both the Mets and New York Yankees making deep postseason runs, and the New York Red Bulls in the playoffs themselves, it was anyone’s guess as to where the match would be played. The Mets’ elimination solved that issue, although between this instance and Vancouver being unable to host its match against Portland, despite finishing above the Timbers, due to a supercross race, venue selection during the MLS postseason has had a much bigger spotlight on it than it should.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

The UEFA Champions League was back in action on Tuesday, and there’s plenty to catch up on. Of chief interest to American fans, Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Club Brugge with an Olimpico. The goalkeeper probably should have done better, but a goal is a goal, and it continued Pulisic’s hot start to the season.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid produced five second-half goals to complete a 5-2 comeback win against Borussia Dortmund, Monaco scored the same amount to beat Red Star Belgrade 5-1, and Aston Villa beat Bologna 2-0 to make it three wins from three and go top of the table.

U-17 U.S. Women Win Handily

The U-17 USWNT continued its campaign in the U-17 Women’s World Cup on Tuesday by cruising past South Korea 5-0. The baby Yanks got off to a hot start, with Melanie Barcenas opening up the scoring just a minute into the game. Kennedy Fuller doubled the advantage in the 10th minute, and Barcenas then got her brace just two minutes after the halftime restart. Mary Angela Long got in on the action with just over 20 minutes to play, before Maddie Abrianna Padelski rounded off the scoring late. The U.S will face Nigera in the quarterfinals, after the African nation finished top of Group A while exhibiting some impressive offensive firepower in the process.

Free Kicks

• Gonazlo Rodriguez has been named Orlando City’s director of health and performance.
• The United States Women’s National Team will face Iceland in a friendly tomorrow, so make sure you’re up to speed on the opposition.
• Chris Richards likely won’t make his return from injury until mid-November.
• Nobody wants to find themselves holding the wooden spoon at the end of the MLS season, but how the “trophy” came to be is an interesting story.
• Former USWNT star Carli Lloyd has given birth to her first child.

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

Happy Tuesday, everyone. It was a rough weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as all three sides came up short. Still, the only way out is up, and life goes on. That means that, as usual, we have plenty of things to talk over this morning, so let’s get into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Playoff Game Date Announced

There’s still one more game left to play in the NWSL regular season, but the Orlando Pride know when their quarterfinal matchup will take place. The Pride will host a quarterfinal match on Friday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m against whichever team finishes eighth in the standings. As things currently stand, it would mean a matchup against Bay FC, although the Portland Thorns or Chicago Red Stars could each realistically drop into that spot. The Pride are undefeated against both Bay and Chicago this year, and have beaten Portland once, but also had the team’s undefeated streak ended by the Thorns two games ago.

Pedro Gallese Nominated for Save of the Year

Despite perhaps not hitting his usual heights, Pedro Gallese has still had a pretty good year between the sticks for Orlando City, and he’s been nominated for the Save of the Year to boot. The stop in question came during Orlando’s fifth match of the year on the road against Atlanta United. With OCSC trailing 1-0 on the stroke of halftime, the hosts whipped in a corner which Stian Gregersen met with a strong header down into the ground. Not only did El Pulpo claw it off the line, but he also managed to make a fantastic double save when Xande Silva sent the rebound back towards the goal. Make sure you take the time to vote for Gallese to win!

San Diego FC Announces Two 2025 Matches

San Diego FC will join MLS next season as the league’s newest franchise, and we now know who the team’s first two opponents will be. The expansion side gets an unenviable start to life in the league, as it will play its first game of the 2025 season on the road against the LA Galaxy on either Feb. 22 or 23. It will then play its first ever home match on March 1 against St. Louis City SC at Snapdragon Stadium in a battle of MLS’s two most recent expansion sides. San Diego will likely hope to emulate St. Louis City’s first season in the league, but probably won’t want a repeat of what the team did in 2024. The full league schedule is set to be announced in December, so we have to wait a while before seeing what the schedule holds for Orlando City.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

The transfer rumor mill never stops churning out new stories, and there are certainly some interesting items to examine today. First up is the report from Calciomercato that Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee is open to leaving the club during the January window, despite having only signed in July. Then, there’s Juventus needing to make a statement that it was hacked on Monday following a fake announcement that was made on its social media that the club had signed Arda Guler from Real Madrid. Virgil van Dijk has confirmed that he’s begun talks regarding signing a new deal with Liverpool, but also stressed that he does not know if he’ll remain at the club next season. Finally, Bayer Leverkusen is reportedly worried about head coach Xabi Alonso leaving the club for a bigger challenge, with Manchester City and Real Madrid both said to be interested.

Free Kicks

• Following two straight losses, the Orlando Pride slipped one place to second in ESPN‘s NWSL power rankings.
• The same outlet has Orlando City ranked eighth out of the 18 playoff teams in the MLS postseason field.
• Neymar has made his first appearance in over a year after tearing his ACL while playing for Al Hilal.
• A number of women’s soccer players have urged FIFA to end its partnership with Saudi Aramco, a Saudi Arabian oil and gas company.
• La Liga is reportedly pushing hard to hold a league match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in Miami.

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

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I just finished setting up broadcasting for the NISA championship match in California over the weekend. This week, I’m back to staying busy at Under Armour and covering high school sports. It was a rough weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, and we have plenty to cover today. Let’s get to the links!

Lions Fall to Atlanta United at Home on Decision Day

Orlando City fell 2-1 to Atlanta United on Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium on Decision Day. The Lions trailed 2-0 early in the first half before Martin Ojeda pulled one back for Orlando just before halftime. The Lions thought they had a late equalizer from Duncan McGuire, but the referee overturned the goal after a video review. The loss ended Orlando’s three-match winning streak, but it still clinched fourth place in the Eastern Conference as New York City FC lost to CF Montreal. Orlando’s next match will be in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs at home against Charlotte FC on Sunday.

Orlando Pride Lose to NJ/NY Gotham FC on the Road

The Orlando Pride lost their second straight match with a 3-1 defeat on the road to NJ/NY Gotham FC on Sunday at Red Bull Arena. The Pride were down 1-0 early in the first half before Adriana converted a penalty to tie things up. Gotham added two goals from Rose Lavelle and Ella Stevens to seal the victory and extend its unbeaten streak to seven matches. The Pride’s next game will be on Nov. 2 at home when they face the Seattle Reign in their final match of the regular season.

Seb Hines Speaks on Diversity in Soccer

BBC Sport interviewed Pride Head Coach Seb Hines after the club won its first NWSL Shield. Hines discussed how he’s helped reshape the club’s culture and advocates for more opportunities for black coaches in the sport alongside assistant coaches Giles Barnes and Yolanda Thomas.

“Being a trailblazer comes with a big responsibility because I want to advocate for more black coaches and diversity within the sport.

“It’s a responsibility to fight for more equality globally. It’s less about winning and more about breaking those barriers. I want to continue to give hope to others.”

Thomas, who joined the Pride’s coaching staff in 2023, also spoke on her passion to drive change and how she was inspired by former England manager Hope Powell.

OCB Eliminated from MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs

Orlando City B was eliminated from postseason play after losing 5-4 on penalties to Chicago Fire FC II following a 1-1 draw at SeatGeek Stadium in the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs . The Young Lions got off to a great start with a goal from Jack Lynn to take the lead in the first half. However, scored an equalizer just before halftime. After 90 minutes and extra time, the game went to penalties, where both teams exchanged goals until sudden death. OCB’s Favian Loyola missed his penalty, while Jean Diouf scored to send Chicago into the conference semifinals. OCB missed out on a chance to get its first postseason win and its 2024 season came to an end.

Orlando City and Pride Announce Hurricane Relief Efforts

Orlando City and the Pride announced hurricane relief effort plans over the weekend so fans can get involved and support those in need following Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. The club also announced that the Wilf Family Foundations contributed $450,000 towards relief efforts, with $350,000 going to the American Red Cross and $100,000 to Heart of Florida United Way, a charity partner for the Pride.

Free Kicks

• Check out Orlando City’s hype video on social media leading up to its playoff match.

• Major League Soccer has reportedly not surpassed the needed number of MLS Season Pass subscriptions in its deal with Apple to trigger the revenue share agreement.
• Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez is reportedly in talks with the club about extending his contract.
• FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that Inter Miami will play in the 2025 Club World Cup, joining the Seattle Sounders as the only MLS clubs in the competition. Miami will host the opening match at Hard Rock Stadium on July 15.
• Arsenal U-18 manager and former England midfielder Jack Wilshere is reportedly set to leave the club to join EFL Championship side Norwich City as its new manager.

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