Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope it’s been a lovely week in your neck of the woods and that you’re ready for a well-earned break this weekend.

It may be the international break but the Whitecaps’ fixture congestion marches on, as the Caps must make up their game against Orlando that was postponed for the Leagues Cup third place match (insert eye roll here).

Orlando haven’t been in great form and will be without several key players themselves. Still, the Lions will be keen to solidify their position in the hyper competitive Eastern Conference.

The Caps are not quite as hard hit by absences as they were earlier this year, in part due to injuries to guys like Brian White but also because Sebastian Berhalter was not selected for the U.S. national team camp. Plus, the addition of a national team retirée in Thomas Müller helps things look a bit better.

Indeed, this actually should be a joyful international break. Ali Ahmed, Jayden Nelson and Andres Cubas, all regulars for their national teams, got called up, as was expected. But so did Kenji Cabrera and Rayan Elloumi. Cabrera has only a couple of caps, so this is a fitting reward for a positive start to his time in Vancouver. And while Elloumi is heading off with Tunisia’s U-23 side, it feels like a senior call-up isn’t out of the question after this World Cup cycle comes to a close and there are more spots up for grabs. Just ignore the pain that he elected for Tunisia over Canada (though Jesse Marsch should be on the phone ASAP trying to change that).

It remains lame that MLS periodically must play through the international break. But the short-term pain of having to play Daniel Rios for a weekend is offset by young players making positive strides for their national teams. That should be a point of pride for the club and something that goes in Axel Schuster’s folio when he is trying to sell the next Pedro Vite on coming to Vancouver. And as Vite’s rise for Ecuador shows, there are now a lot of current and former Caps who Schuster can point to on that front. So while this weekend won’t be ideal as the Caps chase a Western Conference crown, let us all try and keep some perspective. And hey, this team has gotten results without more of their key starters this season — what’s one more challenge?

Shameless Self Promotion

Kian takes stock of Ryan Gauld’s return and what it means bigger picture for both the captain and the Caps.

Best of the Rest

Thomas Mueller has a mean jump shot (in dress shoes no less) and clearly is enjoying his time at various Vancouver-area sporting events.

Tate Johnson narrowly missed the 22 Under 22 list, while a familiar Cascadia name tops the annual ranking of MLS’ best young players.

MLS legend Darlington Nagbe is set to retire after this season, wrapping up an incredible tenure in the league. Hey, who had the number one pick the year he was drafted?

The Canadian Men’s National Team is back in Montreal on Friday to take on Australia. Here’s what it means to return to Quebec after a prolonged hiatus.