Good Monday morning Caps fans, hope you all had a relaxing weekend with no MLS to distract you.

Things are looking up for the Canadian National Team, which got hammered by the Netherlands but which fared much better, holding France, the best national team in the world, to a 0-0 draw. You can’t say Jesse Marsch isn’t challenging himself early on in his tenure.

It is a quiet time in Caps world, however, what with the international break and all. When a comically misguided class-action lawsuit is the biggest thing going on with the club, you know everyone is having a rest.

The Caps did see scout Kevin Antunes depart the club, which means the club will be down a key member of its recruitment team heading into a pretty important summer transfer window. Not that there aren’t other people in the department to get things done but this is a window where the team really needs to get it right.

Elsewhere, the Caps did get some good news after not seeing any of their players called up to the senior national team. Defender Immanuel Mathe, midfielder Jeevan Badwal, and forward Myles Morgan all got the call for the CONCACAF youth championship later this month, a boon for three well-regarded young talents. Mathe has been solid for the Whitecaps 2 side that needed defensive help after last season and while Badwal has only one goal contribution in MLS NEXT Pro this season, he’s started most of the matches which is pretty good for an 18-year-old. The call up seemed to spur Morgan on — he bagged a brace on Sunday night against LAFC 2.

None of these guys are cracking the senior team imminently but all are names that will be worth tracking. Mathe in particular has better underlying numbers than centerbacks that are meaningfully older (thanks to American Soccer Analysis for the nerdy data). The Whitecaps 2 side hasn’t helped some guys get over the hump in recent years and came too late for others (Kam Habibulah is killing it for Sporting KC’s 2 team). But there are a few solid pieces to work with for the youth team coaches here.

Shameless Self Promotion

The podcast uses the international break to take stock of where things are for the Caps and the BC Canadian Premier League teams.

Best of the Rest

More on Max Crepeau’s heroics and a solid performance from CANMNT in Bordeaux.

Now it is the U.S. Men’s National Team’s turn for existential crisis after a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Colombia

The funny, bizarre history of raccoons in MLS — the story you didn’t know you needed

The Columbus Crew have been the victims of their own success, seeing two top executives depart the club in the last week