Julian de Guzman's knee injury won't allow him to take the field for Canada in its two upcoming do-or-die World Cup qualifiers. But he's still going along for the ride.

“Look, three o’clock kickoff. Last time, it was a national holiday for them. And that time in Panama they had the fireworks show outside our hotel. It is always expected going down to those countries, and I think we now have the core group of guys who are used to that and it doesn’t play a factor anymore.”

No doubt there would have been questions about the exclusion of veteran Will Johnson, who has featured in a couple of Toronto FC matches since recovering from a broken leg — an injury suffered while scoring arguably the most dramatic goal in the history of the Voyageurs Cup.

The news coming out of the Ottawa Fury camp isn't pretty; midfielder Julian de Guzman is expected to be out four to six weeks with a knee tendon issue. He was hurt in training last week.

Now, Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister, at the head of a Liberal majority. So, how does the new regime see our bid for the World Cup? We asked Carla Qualtrough, the Minister of Sport and Persons With Disabilities.

In the end, you’d have to believe that one bid would sabotage the other — and in the worst-case scenario — both would blow up because of it. Before we get to “official bid” time, Canadians need to decide which they’d rather go for.

But, just minutes after he was elected, it feels surreal. A Canadian now has the levers of power in his hands. Of course, he has a massive job; in a FIFA community that’s dogged by scandals, CONCACAF may be the most corrupt member of the family. Three previous presidents have all been caught with their hands in a very, very, large cookie jar.

But this is all that matters: With games left against El Salvador (home) and Honduras (away), Canada still controls its own destiny. At the start of this group stage, we would have taken this scenario. Gladly. Two games left, and all to play for — with no games left against Mexico.

“This one game at home could change the future of Canadian soccer, it could change careers,” de Guzman said Friday in a media conference call.

Even though he’s been at Ottawa’s camp since the outset, the termination of his SKC contract and his new Fury deal were only just announced. The Fury deal only lasts till the break between the spring and fall seasons, so de Jong can look for a new club in the July transfer window. In fact, his wife and daughter have remained in Kansas City.