We don’t currently have a true Canadian professional league to call our own — but, what can we learn from those who tried to launch national soccer circuits in previous decades?

Canada has only qualified for the World Cup once — in 1986. But, thanks to a bunch of players who had honed their skills in the Canadian Soccer League, a scrappy and determined national team got very close to making it to USA 1994. That represented the last time Canada got close to a World Cup. We wonder what would have happened to us if the first-division Canadian league would have survived...

An American soccer expert explains why, despite some pretty noble intentions, that his nation’s leagues and federations aren’t ever going to be decent stewards of the Canadian game...

“Until two to three years ago, the relationship was non-existent,” says Montagliani. “Basically, we were a foregone conclusion to our friends from the south. But we have strengthened our relationship, first with the USSF, and now we have better relationships at the MLS level, and the NASL level. Our relationships are improving but, remember, it’s been just two or three years.”

“I think there was an intensity level we didn’t have and I don’t understand that,” Canadian coach Sean Fleming said after the game.

So, let’s look at the rankings after week 1 of MLS action. The number on the right is the total number of minutes played by Canadians this season. So far, no MLS team has played more than one Canadian per game

To recap: Under the new format, the top team in the group gets an automatic entry into the U-17 World Cup. The second- and third-place finishers will play win-and-in playoff matches that also include the second- and third-place teams from Group A (but, under the new rules, they don't necessarily cross over; the four teams would be ranked based on the points they got in the group stage; then it's 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3).

So, on a Tuesday night packed with action for the Canadian soccer supporter — what was the most important moment? Was it a last-gasp goal from Cameron Porter, or a second-half marker from Kosovar Sadiki?

We’re now at the stage of the poker game where it’s time to call. We’ve gone through the bets, the bluffs and the folds.

Victor Montagliani: "From the technical side, there are a handful of players in MLS who could be part of the team that would be at the Gold Cup. And it would hurt if those players weren’t playing. But, when you look at all the countries in CONCACAF, we might be one of the ones least affected by an MLS work stoppage. Certainly, it would not affect us like it would the United States, where the majority of their players play in MLS.”