“Everyone’s just happy. That’s the most important thing. But the coaches told us we can’t get overconfident,” said captain Nana Attakora. “We still have a game on Monday and if we lose that game, this game is meaningless.”

“In tournaments like this it’s important for a team to start well,” said Canadian head coach Tony Fonseca. “I think the way they faced this game was a certain level of stress coming into the first game. I think they faced it with being a little bit nervous for our taste.”

When Canadian U-23 coach Tony Fonseca announced his 20-man roster for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers, it was a bittersweet moment for midfielder Evan James.

Canadian U-23 coach Tony Fonseca has made four cuts — and is going with a very young lineup for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, which begins Thursday night in Nashville.

FC Edmonton’s training session at Foote Field Wednesday was more, ahem, spirited than usual. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. To see some tough tackles and a few curse words uttered on the pitch is a sign that the team isn’t taking its current four-game losing streak all that well. In fact, it’s comforting to see that FC Edmonton isn’t getting comfortable with poor results.

With the MLS All-Star Game once again going head-to-head against the qualifying round of the CONCACAF Champions League (Toronto FC will face Real Esteli at the same time the All-Stars will take on Manchester United), two of the players selected in the First XI — Kasey Keller and Brek Shea — will be question marks for the game.

American defender Jeffery Quijano is the newest member of FC Edmonton. "He can play right back, centre back," said FCE director of soccer Joe Petrone. "He's a very good young player. We are trying to bring in as many young kids as we can. He's got some speed, he's got some smarts. He's six-foot-one. He fits in with the kind of player we want here. When he gets here, we will see what he can do."

Now that Group A has completed its schedule, the picture for Canada and what it needs to do to qualify out of Group C has become crystal clear. If Canada beats Panama on Tuesday evening — even by a single goal — it will get through to the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup. And, barring a miracle result Monday night from Grenada, a draw will likely see the Canadian side going home early.

As Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps prepared for Wednesday night’s first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship final, they learned who the winner will play in the CONCACAF Champions League qualifier. The draw was held Wednesday for the 2011-12 CCL, and the Canadian championship winner will play a Nicaraguan side, either Real Esteli or Walter Ferreti, for the right to advance to the group stage.