Canada on the Marsch
There were reasons to be skeptical about the new coach of the men's national soccer team. But he already has them with a chance to get a historic result
The history of the Canadian men’s national soccer team has a few recent phases. There was a drought that lasted the better part of 40 years, after a goalless appearance at the 1986 World Cup, during which the team might look like it was finally starting to come good only fall apart in embarrassing fashion. The 8-1 loss to Honduras during World Cup qualifying in 2012, when Canada only needed a draw to advance to the next round, was the signature game of that era.
There was the dizzying rise toward the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when John Herdman’s team blew past all expectations in the qualifying campaign, beating Mexico and the United States, finishing at the top of the CONCACAF region, and announcing themselves on the global stage behind the exploits of Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and the like. Plus they had a crafty old goalkeeper who wore sweatpants.
There was the disappointment of the actual World Cup, in which Canada came away with three losses despite not looking out of place against any of Belgium, Croatia or Morocco. (OK, maybe against Croatia.) That tournament came against the backdrop of Canada Soccer’s troubled finances, the result of a long-term, cut-rate media-rights deal that was signed before the men’s team was any good, and which meant that the national organization was unable to capitalize on the surge of interest in the exciting young group. Herdman’s departure to take the head-coach job at Toronto FC came after several public acknowledgements that he felt funding problems were holding the team back.
After a lengthy search for a permanent replacement, during which Canada delivered a throwback embarrassing loss at home to Jamaica that forced them to scramble for qualification into the Copa America, Jesse Marsch was hired to take over the program. It was both a surprisingly high-profile appointment, in that the American had recently been in charge of teams in both the German and English top flights, and a little underwhelming in that he didn’t last long in either job.
But Marsch had almost no time to settle into the job before he was straight into a couple of friendlies against international heavyweights Holland and France, and then the opening match of the Copa America against Argentina and Lionel Messi. It was like buying a new bike and then having a first test ride be a mountain stage at the Tour de France.
I don’t think it’s overstating things to say it has gone better than anyone could have expected. Canada played well in the first half against the Netherlands before falling 3-0, then played France to a 0-0 draw in their second friendly. It was just an exhibition, yes, but not getting walloped by a powerhouse like France counts for something. Once the Copa America began, Canada lost 2-0 to Argentina — again, a respectable performance — and then pulled off a 1-0 upset win over Peru.
Those are the kinds of international wins that were imagined for this Canadian team back when Herdman had them playing well in 2021-22: not that they could realistically challenge superpowers like Brazil or Portugal or Germany, but that they could hold their own against lesser European stalwarts, or mid-tier South American sides. To be clear, those kinds of results would have been unthinkable as little as five years ago, where the best the Canadian men’s team could do was try to beat up on small Caribbean nations and hope they wouldn’t get trounced by Mexico or even the States. But this version of the Canadian team, with guys who play regularly in some of the top European leagues, could at least aspire to make some noise against quality international opponents.
The chance for serious noise comes in Canada’s final group stage game at the Copa, against Chile in Orlando on Saturday night. A win would guarantee passage into the knockout stages, and a draw would probably do the trick, unless Peru somehow engineered a blowout win against a Messi-less Argentina. (Which seems unlikely.) Chile is ranked 40th by FIFA, or eight spots ahead of Canada, but nine spots back of Peru, which Canada has already beaten. Chile is the favourite in the match, but only slightly. Argentina’s late goal that beat Chile on Tuesday night means that the Chileans need a win over Canada to advance, which gives Canada the option to absorb pressure and try to hit them on the counterattack — possibly the ideal setup for a team with lots of speed up front. But Marsch hasn’t been doing this long enough with this team to be certain of how he will approach the game. Maybe he’ll send them out flying, knowing that Chile will expect a more cautious approach from a team that a) has little experience at this level and b) probably just needs a draw.
The Copa America was mostly a free hit for Canada after its challenges over the last couple of years, a chance to gain experience against bigger soccer powers while Marsch got to know his players and started to evaluate the shape and style that he will take into the 2026 World Cup on home soil. But a result on Saturday would be huge, sending them into the final eight of the Copa, where another South American power would likely await. It’s already been a tournament with notable upsets: Costa Rica drew Brazil, and Panama beat the United States. That loss for the Americans means they will need a win against mighty Uruguay just to get out of the group. They, notably, passed on Marsch for their head-coach job. So Canada has a chance on Saturday night to not just achieve a historic result under a new coach, but to embarrass USA Soccer while doing it. Win-win!