Orlando City had a weekend off during the international break, but the Lions are about to pay for that with three matches in eight days, starting Saturday.
We begin this episode with discussion of the USMNT winning three games to open the international window and Justin Ellis' first matches in the Red, White & Blue. It's great to see the United States pinging the ball around with some beautiful one-touch soccer.
The international break wasn't kind to Orlando City winger Tyrese Spicer, who hurt his foot and underwent surgery. The Lions have plenty of coverage in the wing positions, but Spicer's ability to come off the bench and score critical goals is hard to replace.
Our mailbagbox asked us about Lions out on loan, the 2027 MLS Sprint Season, and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.
After the mailbagbox, we looked ahead to the Lions' home game on Saturday against the Columbus Crew. Orlando City needs every point, but so does Columbus, so it'll be a battle. We looked at the series history, provided our key matchups, and made our predictions for the final score of the match.
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Here’s how No. 554 went down:
0:15 – The USMNT has played well so far this window in Justin Ellis' first call-up, and Tyrese Spicer's season looks like it's over.
13:49 – The mailbagbox suggests an asterisk is in order in 2027.
28:13 – The Crew arrive in Orlando on Saturday for a match both teams need in the playoff race.
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