Program the PVR. Make sure your Internet connection is fast enough to allow for multiple streams. This weekend marks a landmark in Canadian soccer. Four professional clubs are in action; FC Edmonton and the Montreal Impact kick off their NASL campaigns Saturday with road games in Florida. And MLS? Toronto FC visits the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night. And the Vancouver Whitecaps head to Texas to take on the Houston Dynamo on Sunday. Of the weekend’s action, only Montreal and FC Edmonton overlap.

And, there were no shocks in the script. Mexico thumped Canada 3-0. By making it to the semifinals, Mexico qualifies for the U-20 World Cup.The Canadian kids get their tickets home.

Canada lost twice Friday at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Guatemala. The Canadians were overwhelmed 3-0 by Costa Rica in their final group-stage match. And, if not for some wonderful saves from Julien Latendresse-Levesque, the scoreline could have been much, much worse.

Russell Teibert’s inspired second-half performance helped save Canada from an embarrassing opening to the CONCACAF U-20 Championship. The Vancouver Whitecaps’ winger set up both second-half goal as Canada rallied to beat Guadeloupe 2-1. Guadaloupe is so tiny, it’s not a FIFA member — so it can’t qualify for the U-20 World Cup even if, by some great upset, got to the semis of this tournament in Guatemala.

Omar Salgado won’t have to wait until his 18th birthday to play in his first MLS game. The Vancouver Whitecaps have been successful in their efforts to get the No. 1 pick in the 2011 Superdraft cleared to play. Salgado is currently with the U.S. U-20 team as it prepares for the CONCACAF qualifiers in Guatemala, so he won’t be able to help the Whitecaps this Saturday in Philadelphia, where the club has a bit of a roster crisis because of international call-ups.

ussell Teibert and his teammates on the Canadian U-20 will look to the recent success of our U-17 program for inspiration. Teibert will leave the Vancouver Whitecaps Sunday, the day after they open the MLS season against Toronto FC, to head to Florida for the national U-20 camp. The Canadian team will then head to Guatemala for the CONCACAF qualifiers for the U-20 World Cup.

So, what now for Canada? Carolina Morace, the Italian coach who saved the Canadian women’s program from the thump-the-ball-up-the-field-and-chase-it thuggery promoted by her predecessor, Even Pellerud, will leave the program after the women’s World Cup.