Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I’m hesitant to get excited about back-to-back days of Orlando soccer considering how last weekend went, but we have the Orlando Pride in action tonight and Orlando City playing Saturday in a pair of home games. Keep every finger crossed, folks. But for now, let’s get to the links!

Braian Ojeda Undergoes Foot Surgery

Orlando City announced that midfielder Braian Ojeda underwent successful surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot. It’s the same foot injury that Robin Jansson dealt with earlier this year and Ojeda is expected to return in the fall. The Lions traded for Ojeda in January and he has started in 21 games across all competitions this year, recording a goal and six assists. He also represented Paraguay at the World Cup this summer and played in the match against Germany in the round of 32.

Orlando Pride Host Racing Louisville Tonight

The Orlando Pride are coming off of a disastrous 5-0 defeat on the road against the North Carolina Courage and will look to bounce back tonight when they host Racing Louisville. Although Louisville has only won four games this season, two of those victories have come in their past three games and one was at the Pride’s expense. We’ll see if Orlando’s offense will be able to make some noise against a Louisville defense that has conceded a league-high 34 goals this season. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on the need for a result tonight at home.

“When we come home and we play in front of our fans, we need to put a show on and we need to really bounce back from a disappointing result against North Carolina,” Hines said. “We let ourselves down, we let the fans down, and we need to respond in the best way and that’s by getting three points this Friday.”

NWSL Midseason Predictions

We’ve reached the second half of the NWSL season and it’s a nice time to take a look at the various award races across the league. While Barbra Banda being away at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has opened the door for other forwards to make up ground in the Golden Boot race, her absence has at least proven just how valuable she is to her team amid the Pride’s free fall without her. It doesn’t hurt her case for MVP, though she faces stiff competition from Temwa Chawinga, Trinity Rodman, and Mina Tanaka. The Pride likely don’t have any contenders for the other awards given how the season has gone, but anything can happen.

Keeping Up With the Americans Abroad

As we near the return of European soccer, there are plenty of Americans with new teams to keep an eye out for this year. ESPN graded some of the moves by Yanks this summer, with Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter’s moves from MLS to Middlesbrough receiving decent marks. It’ll be interesting to see how Giovanni Reyna does now that he’s in Strasbourg, and we’ll see if goalkeeper Diego Kochen can make an impact with Lyngby Boldklub in Denmark. La Liga starts next weekend, which means we’ll be able to watch Alex Freeman with Villarreal after his strong World Cup performance.

Free Kicks

• The Pride fell three spots to 10th in All For XI’s NWSL power rankings after their lopsided loss on the road.
• You’ll need to get past the paywall for the full details, but Racing Louisville owner John Neace spoke on how the club is seeking investors and that alternatives like relocation may have to be considered if the current situation doesn’t change.
• Chicago Fire center back Mbekezeli Mbokazi is out for the rest of the season according to Head Coach Gregg Berhalter.
• Real Madrid signed 19-year-old forward Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig, inking him to a seven-year deal.
• UEFA has maintained its boycott of FIFA competitions over FIFA President Gianni’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup, stating that its conditions have not been met.
• Mo Salah officially signed a two-year contract with Turkish club Trabzonspor.

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

It’s Thursday, which means we’re celebrating an Orlando City victory. The Lions have been midweek monsters this season and it’s been a nice boost of energy to get through the week. If any of you are performing some sort of ritual on Wednesday nights, please keep it up. Let’s get to the big win and more in today’s links!

Orlando City Beats Monterrey in Leagues Cup

After a lengthy weather delay, Orlando City beat Monterrey 2-1 at home in its first match of this year’s Leagues Cup. The video review system was put through its paces in this match, overturning a Monterrey goal, a Monterrey red card, and a penalty on Orlando’s Robin Jansson in separate instances. Be sure to check out our recap of the win, which included a nice performance from Tyrese Spicer as a starter and the return of Daryl Dike off the bench. The Lions will be back in action on Saturday against Club Leon before wrapping up this phase of the tournament on Wednesday against San Luis.

Marco Pasalic Reportedly Staying in Orlando

There’s been buzz this summer regarding Marco Pasalic being transferred form Orlando City to Hull City, but the move is reportedly not going to happen according to Croatian sports newspaper Sportske Novosti.

Pasalic had 12 goals and five assists in his first MLS season last year after joining Orlando from HNK Rijeka. While the 25-year-old hasn’t quite had the same impact so far this season, he did play for Croatia in this summer’s World Cup and could benefit from the addition of Antoine Griezmann to the offense. Pasalic came off the bench for a late cameo on Wednesday to help see out the win over Monterrey.

Zambia Eliminated From WAFCON Despite Win

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda scored in Zambia’s 2-1 win against Malawi in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, but it wasn’t enough for Zambia to avoid elimination. Zambia, Malawi, and Nigeria all finished with six points in the group stage, but Zambia was ousted due to the third tiebreaker of goals scored in matches between the three. It’s a rough way to go out for Zambia, which finished with the best overall goal differential in the group. As a result, Zambia will not take part in the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Banda finished the tournament with five goals and will return to a Pride team in desperate need of help on offense.

U.S. Qualifies for 2027 U-20 Men’s World Cup

The United States U-19 Men’s National Team beat Guatemala 3-1 to advance to the semifinals of the Concacaf U-20 Men’s Championship, qualifying for the 2027 U-20 World Cup and 2027 Pan American Games in the process. Guatemala struck first, but the U.S. found an equalizer right before halftime and went on to win the game with a pair of goals in the second half. Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske was a starter in the match as well. The U.S. will take on Costa Rica in the semifinals Friday at the Azteca.

FIFA Backs Gianni Infantino as Pressure Rises

As the soccer world reacts to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s failed scheme to sell stakes in the World Cup, FIFA reaffirmed its support for him at a crisis meeting in Morocco over his presidency. There have been many calls for reform due to Infantino’s actions, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stating he does not have confidence in him and Portuguese legend Luis Figo calling for him to step down. FIFA also denied a report that Infantino offered Morocco hosting for the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support.

Free Kicks

• Former Lion Nico Lodeiro announced his retirement from professional soccer and Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira wished him the best with one of his highlights as a Lion.

• The Columbus Crew added Chilean forward Gonzalo Tapia on loan from Sao Paulo through the 2027 MLS sprint season.
• Eva Olid was announced as the next head coach of Manchester United’s women’s soccer team, replacing former Pride head coach Marc Skinner. She has spent the past five years with Hearts and won the Scottish Women’s Premier League title last season.
• Wrexham signed midfielder Ben Whiteman, who has 200 EFL Championship appearances under his belt and was Preston North End’s captain.
• Mo Salah arrived in Istanbul as it appears he will sign with Trabzonspor after nine seasons with Liverpool. Does this make the Turkish Super Lig a retirement league or does that label only apply when it’s about MLS?

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! It’s Leagues Cup match day for Orlando City. Are you excited? Me neither, but it is a chance to watch the team we support, so that’s at least something. I prefer the U.S. Open Cup, but here we are. On a more positive note, Ted Lasso returns tonight, so we have that going for us. For now, let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Begins Leagues Cup

Orlando City opens the Leagues Cup campaign against CF Monterrey at Inter.co Stadium this evening. The Lions will likely still be without Martin Ojeda, and we’re yet to see Daryl Dike take the pitch. Orlando will need to deal with former MLS stars Hugo Cuypers and Diego Rossi. I had really hoped the Lions had seen the last of those two. It will be interesting to see how Orlando City approaches the match.

Orlando Pride Sign Nunes

If you listen to the latest episode of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride Pawedcast later today you’ll hear us talk about how Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Orlando Pride General Manager Caitlin Carducci has barely done anything — at least that we have seen. That changed Tuesday when the Pride signed Brazilian forward Gabi Nunes through the end of the 2026 season. It’s no secret the team needs help in the attack, and Nunes is an experienced striker. Hopefully she gets up to speed quickly as the Pride’s playoff hopes are all but gone.

USMNT Returning to Orlando

Inter.co Stadium will host a friendly between the USMNT and Peru on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 4:30 p.m. The match is the first of four starting off the 2030 World Cup cycle. Mauricio Pochettino is still in charge of the program. We might see Wilder Cartagena play, along with plenty of former Lions, like Alex Freeman for the U.S. and Pedro Gallese for Peru. Typically, the USMNT has done well when playing in Orlando. It will be interesting to see which players are called up by Pochettino.

NWSL News

You are welcome to go back and relive last week’s NWSL stories, but I don’t recommend it. Looking forward, the NWSL will start early next season to accommodate the World Cup. USWNT defender Jenna Nighswonger is on her way back to the NWSL to play for Bay FC. The Portland Thorns are signing Tobin Heath to a one-day contract to officially retire with the club.

Free Kicks

• What might Larry Berg do to improve MLS when he takes over as commissioner next year? Can he keep the growth trajectory of Don Garber’s tenure? Berg provided some insights in his first MLS press conference.
• The MLS Disciplinary Committee issued several rulings Tuesday, including fining Atlanta United defender Tomas Jacob for simulation/embellishment.
• Crystal Palace may add Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake.

• Orlando City isn’t the only team playing in Leagues Cup. Here is the full schedule.
• Two FIFA executives are breaking rank from Gianni Infantino following his thankfully failed plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup. Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and secretary general Mattias Grafström are making the right decision. Hopefully, more will follow.
• Speaking of FIFA, the U.S. cities that hosted the World Cup are looking for the $1 million promised to them by the organization. I’m sure the checks are in the mail.

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!