Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I don’t have many plans this holiday weekend beyond enjoying some soccer and indulging myself in a few hot dogs to celebrate. It should be a fun weekend, but make sure to stay safe out there if you plan on setting off any fireworks. For now though, let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Take On Angel City FC Tonight

The NWSL resumes today and the Orlando Pride will play against Angel City FC at 10 p.m. in their first match since a 3-1 win over Bay FC on May 29. That win capped off a six-game month for the Pride, including a stretch of three straight road games. Meanwhile, Angel City parted ways with Alex Straus over the break after only winning once in May, and tonight’s match will be Leif Gunnar Smerud’s first since being named interim head coach. It can be tough playing an opponent with a new coach, but hopefully the Pride can bring all three points back to Orlando.

Top NWSL Free Agents to Watch

Free agency is officially underway in the NWSL and the list of players with contracts expiring at the end of the year includes some of the league’s best players. Orlando Pride star Marta was listed as one of the top free agents to watch, though I would be pretty shocked if she plays for another NWSL club if she leaves Orlando after this season. Leicy Santos, Debinha, and Rose Lavelle are other skilled attackers who will become free agents, but Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger is sure to have plenty of clubs reaching out for her talents as well.

Portugal and Spain Advance in World Cup

This World Cup hasn’t been short on excitement and that continued with Portugal’s 2-1 win against Croatia. After a scoreless first half, Croatia took the lead thanks to a goal from Ivan Perisic, but Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot and the game was moments away from heading to extra time. Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the goal it needed to advance deep in stoppage time, but Croatia nearly came back with a goal that was disallowed due to an offside call. Spain cruised to a 3-0 win against Austria to book its spot in the round of 16 as well. Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice for his second brace of the tournament, with Marc Cucurella assisting on both of his goals. Spain and Portugal will square off in the next round in what should be a fantastic match. Switzerland and Algeria kicked off late.

The round of 32 wraps up today with a trio of matches, starting with Egypt’s game against Australia. Cape Verde will then look to shock the world when it plays Argentina, and the late game will be between Colombia and Ghana.

Columbus Crew Sign New Designated Player

The Columbus Crew have signed Spanish midfielder Brais Mendez to a Designated Player contract through the 2028-2029 season with a club option for the 2029-2030 season. Mendez has spent the past four La Liga seasons with Real Sociedad, recording 33 goals and 24 assists in 166 appearances. He gives the crew some additional firepower as reports swirl regarding Diego Rossi’s departure for CF Monterrey. While maybe not in the same headline-grabbing tier of MLS summer signings like Antoine Griezmann or Robert Lewandowski, Mendez is a big addition to the league as the Eastern Conference arms race continues.

Free Kicks

• Kissimmee SC of the United Premier Soccer League thanked Orlando City for hosting a friendly between the two sides.

• CF Montreal sent $2.1 million in General Allocation Money to Austin FC in exchange for midfielder Dani Pereira. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, Pereira has contributed six goals and 23 assists in 165 appearances across all competitions for Austin.
• Real Salt Lake reportedly rejected a transfer bid around $3.5 million from CF Monterrey for midfielder Diego Luna.

• American winger Emma Sears reportedly requested a trade from Racing Louisville, although the club is not reportedly interested in a midseason transfer.
• The United States Men’s National Team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina had record viewership. Understandably so, too, as I spent most of the match pacing around my living room.

• MFK Karvina, which won the Czech Cup to claim a spot in the fourth round of Europa League qualifying, has been banned from European competitions next season by UEFA for match fixing.
• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated that pubs in England will stay open until 5 a.m. there on the night of England’s World Cup match against Mexico.
• Santi Cazorla has announced his retirement at age 41 after spending the past three seasons with his boyhood club, Oviedo.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

Good morning, everyone! It’s matchday for the United States Men’s National Team with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line. We’ve got a lot to talk through today, so let’s wish a happy birthday to Orlando City B defender Clovis Archange and get into the links!

USMNT Injury Updates

With the USMNT set to take on Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight at 8 p.m., we have some health updates to go through for some American players. First and foremost, talisman Christian Pulisic spoke before Tuesday’s training session and said he feels good and is ready to go the full 90 minutes after being limited to just 77 minutes across the USMNT’s three group stage games due to an ankle injury. Given how dangerous the team looked once he was introduced against Turkiye in the third game, that’s a welcome piece of news. Mauricio Pochettino also provided updates on Auston Trusty, Mark McKenzie, and Cristian Roldan. There seems to be a chance that Trusty will be ready to go, while the outlooks are less positive for McKenzie and Roldan.

World Cup Results Roundup

We were treated to another exciting batch of World Cup matches on Tuesday. In the early game, Norway used an 86th-minute Erling Haaland goal to power past a second-half equalizer from the Ivory Coast and knock off the African side 2-1 to book a spot in the Round of 16. That sets up a tantalizing Haaland vs. Vinicius Jr. showdown against Brazil on July 5 in New Jersey. The second game of the day wasn’t as close, as a Kylian Mbappe brace powered France past Sweden for a 3-0 win that really could have seen the French score a boatload of additional goals. France took 25 shots, with 16 coming from inside the box, and put 12 of them on target. The score almost certainly would have been much uglier if not for some wasteful finishing and an admirable goalkeeping effort from Jacob Zetterstrom. The final match of the day between Mexico and Ecuador concluded after our editorial deadline with the start delayed by weather.

Questions for Final 16 Teams

A number of teams have booked their spot in the next round of knockout games, but questions still remain when it comes to their performances. For Paraguay, will the team continue to be successful if it can’t score the first goal? Doing so against Turkiye and Germany allowed Paraguay to sit back and play on the counterattack, while conceding early against the USMNT opened floodgates that the South Americans were never able to close. Brazil doesn’t seem to have a concrete plan aside from getting the ball to the best players and letting them cook, and it’s fair to ask questions about how much mileage that strategy has left. Then there’s Canada, which isn’t short on energy and work rate, but has been limited by Alphonso Davies’ availability (or lack thereof). Will he be available for what looks to be an extremely tough test against a Morocco side that beat Canada 2-1 at the 2022 World Cup?

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer season never stops, it simply rumbles along in the background. Today’s rumblings start with Folarin Balogun, who is reportedly on Paris Saint-Germain’s shortlist to replace Goncalo Ramos, who has signed with AC Milan. Moving to England, Tottenham has reportedly agreed to a club record-deal of $112 million to sign midfielder Mateus Fernandes from West Ham. Manchester United is also keen on raiding the relegated Hammers for players, and is said to have identified winger Crysencio Summerville as a player they want to sign. That said, the Red Devils’ ability to due so will likely hinge heavily on whether or not they can resolve the situation with Marcus Rashford, who is scheduled to return from loan.

Free Kicks

• Reagan Raabe’s time with the Orlando Pride has concluded.

• Austin FC has signed winger Przemyslaw Placheta on a free transfer.
• Toronto FC is reportedly putting the finishing touches on a signing of its own.

• Julian Nagelsmann says his Germany side is not a “first-class team” anymore after being knocked off by Paraguay on penalties.
• Ronald Koeman has stepped down as head coach of the Netherlands after the team lost to Morocco on penalty kicks.

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

Good morning, everyone. The World Cup knockout stages have provided a ton of entertainment so far, and that shouldn’t stop anytime soon. Alex Freeman and the USMNT return to action Wednesday, and today’s slate includes Norway vs. Ivory Coast and France vs. Sweden. We’ve got plenty to talk through today, so let’s wish a happy birthday to Orlando City midfielder Joran Gerbet and get into the links!

Scouting Bosnia and Herzegovina

The USMNT will begin its knockout round campaign Wednesday when it faces Bosnia and Herzegovina. Expect the opposition to come out in a 4-4-2 highlighted by 40-year-old Edin Dzeko as one of the strikers, and Wisconsin-born Esmir Bajraktarevic starting at right midfield. Sergej Barbarez’s side wants to stay compact and organized, soaking up pressure before hitting on the break with the speed of the wide players. They also present a threat from set pieces and play a very physical style, but can sometimes get sucked into the physical side of the game a little too much. The USMNT will need to zip the ball around quickly in order to break down the defense, while being alert to balls over the top to the Dragons’ dangerous attackers.

World Cup Results Roundup

The World Cup knockout stages continued Monday with a trio of games in the Round of 32. In the first game of the day, Japan looked set to spring a surprise on Brazil after taking a first-half lead but got sucked into playing too defensively, and the Selecao used a 56th-minute equalizer from Casemiro and a 95th-minute Gabriel Martinelli goal to win 2-1 and book their ticket to the next round. The second game of the day saw Braian Ojeda and Paraguay knock off Germany in a dramatic penalty shootout. Paraguay took a 1-0 lead through Julio Enciso just before halftime, but Kai Havertz leveled things up in the 54th minute. The Germans thought they had the game won through a Jonathan Tah header in the 102nd minute, but it was ruled out for a foul and the center back ultimately missed the crucial spot kick once the shootout was in sudden death. The final game of the day, between Morocco and the Netherlands, concluded late.

Enzo Maresca Joins Manchester City

Manchester City has officially named Enzo Maresca as the team’s new head coach, but the appointment doesn’t come without controversy. The Italian coach was employed by Chelsea until Jan. 1 of this year, and the Blues claim that he will personally pay their club compensation in order to take the job at Man City. Not only that, but Chelsea also says that the club received compensation from City, with the London side releasing a frostily worded statement expressing both disappointment over the situation and excitement around new head coach Xabi Alonso. For his part, Maresca released a statement on Instagram in which he apologized for the “disruption” caused by the manner of his departure from Chelsea while also emphasizing his excitement to be joining City.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Despite the World Cup being in full swing, transfer rumors are continuing to fly thick and fast. We start with Barcelona, which reportedly made a formal inquiry to Harry Kane’s representatives about his availability, but the striker is fully focused on the World Cup and is not currently open to discussing his future. Speaking of Barcelona, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is said to be in advanced talks to go out on loan from the Catalan club and join Ajax. Moving to France, Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly close to signing Yan Diomande from Red Bull Leipzig for a fee in the area of $114 million. In a domino effect from that move,Liverpool is now exploring the signing of PSG winger Bradley Barcola, who may find himself short on playing time if Diomande arrives in the French capital.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City’s newest face settled in during Monday morning’s training session.

• The Chicago Fire have officially signed Robert Lewandowski.
• New York City FC has signed forward Benie Traore from FC Basel as a Designated Player.
• Gotham FC has officially signed forward Sam Kerr.

• In addition to the Crew finalizing a deal to transfer Diego Rossi (as discussed in Monday’s Lion Links), Columbus is reportedly closing in on a loan move for Lautaro Giaccone.

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