No doubt there would have been questions about the exclusion of veteran Will Johnson, who has featured in a couple of Toronto FC matches since recovering from a broken leg — an injury suffered while scoring arguably the most dramatic goal in the history of the Voyageurs Cup.

The news coming out of the Ottawa Fury camp isn't pretty; midfielder Julian de Guzman is expected to be out four to six weeks with a knee tendon issue. He was hurt in training last week.

Dixon is just part of a growing trend of Canadians who are deciding that home soil is the best place for them to be. Dixon, who got his first national-team call-up earlier this year, is the newest member of the “come back to Canada club.”

And now that Vancouver has become the de facto home for the national side, the Whitecaps lack of, well, first-team Canadian-ness was only accentuated. But, on Monday, the Whitecaps were able to tweet out highlights of their new signings playing for the national team and wrap themselves in the flag.

When he first arrived in Vancouver, Marco Bustos was a homesick teen. After a few months in the Whitecaps Residency, he was told by the club to get his act together. Now, years later, he is one of the Whitecaps’ brightest prospects...

Nik Ledgerwood was born and raised in Lethbridge, but left town when he was a teenager so he could pursue his soccer career. More than a decade later, he’s come back to his home province... 

We have all seen some fantastic own goals, but Akramjon Komilov’s effort deserves some applause.

For the three thousand or so watching the stream of the Canadian men’s national team’s friendly against Azerbaijan, it was 90 minutes that offered very little in terms of hope or discouragement ahead of the next two crucial games of World Cup qualifying.

But, because the Eddies have a bye next weekend, the call-ups won't affect the team greatly. Corea will miss one match. Ledgerwood won't miss any. Both players will be back in the lineup for the final game of the spring season, when the Eddies face Fort Lauderdale on June 12.

Devin Masch, executive director of the Regina Soccer Association, said his group has approached the Canadian Soccer Association about its intent to host an international game — possibly a World Cup qualifier if the Canadian men’s national team makes it to the hex.