FC Edmonton has brought in two midfielders, American Pablo Cruz and Brazilian Thiago de Freitas. Both were on hand at FCE’s south-side headquarters Thursday as they were unveiled to the media. Cruz — who has played in NASL for the Atlanta Silverbacks and the San Antonio Scorpions — has long been admired by FCE head coach Colin Miller. Thiago is …

The Canadian team is introduced, with Cyle Larin and Tesho Akindele at the top of the formation. The Voyageurs sitting in the nosebleeds reminisce about the long qualifying campaign that led to this point. They wax poetic about the goal Akindele scored against the United States in the Hex; they also recall Larin powering through a group of Honduran defenders and then quieting the crowd in San Pedro Sula.

FC Edmonton and midfielder Chad Burt have mutually agreed to part ways, so that the player can return home to Florida to tend to personal issues.

This weekly update to the minutes-played-by-Canadians list need to be taken with more than a few grains of salt.

The analysis of FC Edmonton’s spring-season finale — a 3-0 loss on the road to the Indy Eleven — has to begin by looking at the decision to yank keeper John Smits at halftime.

"I think we played a very good game," coach Benito Floro said after the match. "We proposed that we would be serious in this game and to play Dominica with a lot of respect. We developed a strong pressing game, and at the same time we have had at least 12 or 13 scoring chances. Unfortunately we only scored once from open play and the penalty. The result was not correspondent with the play but it was good."

Canadian national-team coach Benito Floro is working with three “new” players as the team prepares to begin its qualification process for the 2018 World Cup. FC Dallas striker Tesho Akindele, FC Edmonton defender Mallan Roberts and, um, Portland Timbers midfielder Will Johnson are all new players, in Floro’s eyes. Wait? Will Johnson? The Canadian national-team veteran? Floro put him in …

It was moving day on the Quintessentially Canadian Power Rankings.

So, this is the challenge. On Monday morning, when NASL executives get into the office, the first order of business is how to get the Canadian mess sorted it out. After all, it is the North American Soccer League, not American Soccer League.

The Canadian Soccer Association has announced that FC Edmonton defender Mallan Roberts — who got his citizenship earlier this year — has been called up the men's national team ahead of their June 11 and 16 World Cup qualifiers against Dominica.