The Lions and Young Lions were both off this weekend with the international break. Because of that, we were focused on the United States Men's National Team as the World Cup continues to creep closer and closer. Unfortunately, the USMNT — despite a great first half — got waffled by Belgium in the second half, losing 5-2. It was an ugly reminder that the U.S. must be its best to compete with top teams from around the world —not for 45 minutes, but for 90-plus. That wasn't the case on Saturday, and the Yanks were punished for it.

Portugal on Tuesday night provides another opportunity for growth, but time is running out before the games count on the biggest stage. Is the U.S. ready?

Our mailbagbox had questions about lineup changes, hairstyles, 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 look ahead to Orlando City's match this weekend at LAFC. As good as Inter Miami, New York City FC, and Nashville have been this year, Saturday's hosts have been either as good or better. That doesn't bode well for a struggling Orlando City side that desperately needs to start scoring goals and keeping them out of its own net. We look back at the series history, compare the two clubs, and offer up our key matchups and score predictions. We are not optimistic about this one, folks.

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Here’s how No. 525 went down:

0:15 – The USMNT played a strong opening 40 minutes and then...well oddly enough the game ended that way and the final 50 were never even played! That's how we're choosing to remember it, anyway.

31:43 – Our mailbagbox prevents us from having to preview the LAFC match, but not for long.

52:07 – LAFC hasn't conceded or lost yet. Orlando has done both of those things far more often than any of us would like.

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