Coffee with the Caps, Friday March 25

Good Friday morning Caps fans, hopefully the loss last night for the Canadian National Team isn’t dampening the mood too much.

I did not watch Canada’s 1-0 loss to Costa Rica, as I was more concerned with the fortunes of my own national team doing battle with Mexico at the same time.

A first half Mark-Anthony Kaye red card, however, appeared to be too much for the Reds to overcome in the always difficult confines of San Jose. It is impressive and noteworthy that this was really the first major adversity the side has faced in World Cup Qualifying thus far, a testament to the strength that John Herdman’s men have shown.

The result will really only serve to delay the inevitable, however. Canada will host an already eliminated Jamaica side on Sunday and any result would see them through to qualification. Given how this team has risen to the occasion thus far in the qualifying campaign, I don’t doubt that they’ll give everyone the celebration that they are looking for, a celebration decades in the making.

Let us not forget about the club level as well, however. The Caps did not upturn the status quo too much in tapping Nick Dasovic to run their MLS NEXT Pro side, transferring him (and much of the coaching staff) over from the academy.

A wise move, surely, given how much of the current MNP side hails from the youth system, meaning there will be some continuity in terms of personality, play style, etc. then what has been imparted in the youth teams. Dasovic also seems like the kind of coach who could have been in line to move elsewhere, so perhaps not a bad hire to nominally promote him to the reserve side.

The Thundercaps 2.0 (as I have taken to calling them) will kick of their MNP slate against Houston. Here’s hoping they fare a bit better than the senior team — if you want to see for yourself it will be streamed at http://mlsnextpro.com/ .

Best of the Rest

A good profile of Altiba Hutchinson and what being on the brink of qualification means to the veteran

More on the U.S’ scoreless draw with Mexico and what it means for the remaining matches. Meanwhile, Panama drew 1-1 with Honduras, opening the door for the U.S. to qualify on Sunday also

Just months after winning the European Championships, Italy will not appear in the World Cup, with North Macedonia grabbing an incredible stoppage time winner. Football, eh?

DC United have re-acquired former homegrown talent Chris Durkin