That’s right. The U-20s aren’t going out with a whimper. They’re going out, supernova style.

The bad grass got the better of Canada. A harmless long-distance shot that Busti looked sure to capture took an awkward bounce off a divot and came up into the keeper’s face. The ball then caromed to Diaz, who scored his second off a nothing play.

The formality of World Cup qualifying is done and dusted for the Canadian women's team.

The simple truth is If you have Zebie and Adekugbe on the flanks, that Canadian weakness isn’t evident. Instead, Floro is sending out makeshift fullbacks and hoping they can deal with the likes of Arroyo. And, remember that, in the opener against the U.S., Canada was torched down the wing on the Americans’ opening goal.

But, I did want to take the chance to catch up on a couple of things: The elimination of Canada’s U-17s from the U-17 World Cup picture and the second instalment of The 11’s Quintessentially Canadian Power Rankings.

“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.

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).

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.”

If you were a neutral and stuck out all 94 minutes of Canada’s 0-0 draw at Panama, well either you really, really love soccer or you’re immune to boredom. You could sit through a Kenny G concert and be entertained.

A Canadian men’s national team press conference just wouldn’t be a men’s national team press conference if there weren’t questions about players who aren’t with the program.