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.

John Herdman said that the team’s medical staff and the Canadian Olympic Committee have been closely monitoring the Zika situation. He said that his medical staff attended a conference last week where Zika was the top item on the agenda, and they returned with “good, clear information about the risks.”

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.

So, as far as anyone can guess, Canada’s winning percentage in games where a mango lady is nearly struck by a ball stands at .000.

CONCACAF doesn’t have the stats posted — in terms of shots on goal — but it would not be unfair to state that the blue floor looked like it was tilted all night long. The Costa Ricans fizzed the ball across the blue tiles, and created chance after chance. But Lemos made sensational save after save, and the CONCACAF commentator was running out of superlatives to bestow on the Canadian keeper.

“We have achieved step one,” said Selaidopoulos. "Step two is getting into the World Cup. Step three would be winning the (CONCACAF) championship. We are taking this step-by-step. The guys are all focused on the short-term right now.”

hursday, a Canadian national futsal team made up mostly of amateurs from Ontario and Quebec felled an American side filled with professionals. Thanks to a Robert Renaud hat trick, Canada beat the American 5-3 in Costa Rica Thursday, which gave our national side a 9-7 edge in the two-game aggregate series.

All but three of the American players are under contract to teams in the Major Arena Soccer League, including Danny Waltman, who was named the MASL’s goalkeeper of the year in 2016. Canada has three MASL vets: Ian Bennett of the Milwaukee Wave, Frederico Moojen of the St. Louis Ambush and Vahid Assadpour of the Missouri Comets.

FC Edmonton’s 18-year-old midfielder made his professional debut Saturday, playing 80 minutes against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. But, he couldn’t let himself get too carried away — on Tuesday, the University of Alberta first-year engineering student wrote an exam.

But, on the practical side, the second they get sworn in, things change for FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller. Fordyce and Watson will no longer be international players, so that means two precious international roster spots open up for Miller to use as he wishes.