In a lot of ways, the 2022 FIFA World Cup was the turning point for the Canadian men’s team.
The tournament in Qatar saw Canada face Belgium (ranked No. 2 in the world at the time) and eventual tournament semi-finalists Morocco and Croatia. The Canadians bowed out in the group stage with three losses and having scored only one goal.
But that small taste of going up against the top nations in the world made the Canadians hungry for more. Much more. Only by routinely testing itself against the best teams in international soccer can Canada hope to become a competitive force when it co-hosts the 2026 World Cup. It’ll still have to face Concacaf rivals going forward from time to time. But there’s no turning back at this point for Canada if it’s truly interested in becoming an elite soccer nation.
As luck would have, newly appointed coach Jesse Marsch’s first two games in charge saw Canada, No. 49 in the FIFA rankings, take on No. 7 Netherlands and No. 2 France in a span of four days, the type of opponents his team should be facing on a regular basis in order to take the next step in its evolution.
“Our end vision, our end goal is two years from now [the 2026 World Cup]. And we’re just starting our process,” Marsch said. “It’s almost unfair to have your first match against the Dutch and your second against the French. But so what? We’ve got to grow up as a team, we’ve got to grow up as a football nation and we’ve got to figure out ways to get better.
“There’s no better way to do that than playing against opponents like this.”
Although Canada is still looking for its first win under its new coach after a 4-0 loss to the Dutch in Rotterdam last Thursday and a 0-0 draw vs. the French in Bordeaux on Sunday, there is reason for optimism with Marsch at the helm.
Marsch is a disciple of German coach Ralf Rangnick, whom he served under as an assistant at Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Rangnick’s teams play a fairly aggressive pressing style that puts great physical demands on players who are required to engage opponents right away in order to win possession. Rangnick’s philosophies have greatly influenced Marsch, and it hardly comes as a surprise he is going to set Canada to play in a similar fashion.
A 4-0 loss looked bad on paper. But the final score didn’t honestly reflect the balance of play and how well some Canadian players put in key performances on the night.
We saw evidence of this in Rotterdam, where Canada came flying out of the chute, routinely winning the ball back high up the pitch and looking dangerous in moments of transition. For 45 minutes, the Canadians frustrated the Dutch. But by the second half, Canada looked gassed, and the players were running on tired legs, which led to the deluge of goals from the Netherlands.
“Honestly, it always feels tough when you walk away [from a] four-nil [defeat],” Marsch told reporters after the game. “I don’t think that was indicative of the game. I thought in the first half we represented ourselves really well and the version of football that I want the team to move toward.
“And then what you see in the second half is when the Dutch start to crank up the heat a little bit and you can see a bit more of their quality. And we get stressed a little bit more and it forces us into a few mistakes. But I told [the players] that certainly the first half, and overall, it was better than I had hoped.”
One of the criticisms levelled at Marsch throughout his coaching career is that he is tactically inflexible; that the American coach knows only one way.
But Sunday’s match against the French showed that he’s not intransigent as some like to think. This was a different look for Canada compared to the Netherlands match. Instead of sticking to the rigours of an aggressive press, the Canadians showed more patience in trying to slow the game down, were far more organized and were intelligent in their movement on and off the ball. Lessons were learned against the Netherlands and the correct adjustments were made by Marsch.
“The two opponents are different,” Marsch said Sunday. “The Dutch tried to create that with their man-marking, so it means that there’s not pauses in the game and possession like there were tonight.”
Marsch was also bold in his roster decisions over these two games, relying on young players to hold down key positions against two top-10 teams. Moïse Bombito, 24, had only four caps before these games, while fellow centre back Derek Cornelius, 26, featured in only one qualifying match ahead of the 2022 World Cup. Yet, Marsch didn’t hesitate to start them against both the Dutch and French, and both distinguished themselves with their mature, steady play at the back.
Industrious midfielder Ismaël Koné, 21, put in a man-of-the-match effort with his excellent two-way display against the French. Somewhat underutilized by previous manager John Herdman, Koné is a great athlete with a sharp brain, making him a perfect fit for Marsch’s playing style. Liam Millar was also overlooked by Herdman, but the talented left winger was Canada’s best attacker across both games, and if his shot that smacked the crossbar early in the second half was just a touch lower, we’d probably be talking about a famous Canadian win.
Marsch’s decision to leave veteran goalkeeper Milan Borgan at home, while certainly not a surprise, was a smart move nonetheless. Dayne St. Clair actually looked solid in a losing effort against the Dutch, while Maxime Crépeau ended up making four big saves, including one to deny Kylian Mbappé on what would’ve been the winning goal deep into injury time. Who’ll be the new No. 1 going forward? It’s uncertain. But it must be nice for Marsch to have choices.
Things don’t get any easier for Canada after taking on two giants of the European game. The Canadians are getting set to participate at this month’s Copa América, where they will face Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champion Argentina, ranked No. 1 in the world, in the opening match of the 16-nation tournament.
Canada will enter the tournament with a stiff wind in its sails after a remarkable result against the French. But Marsch isn’t getting ahead of himself.
“It’s one game. It’s a friendly. It’s against a very good opponent and it’s a draw, it’s not a win. But, obviously, there’s confidence in the group right now,” Marsch told reporters after the France game.
He added later: “It was a big step forward. But there’s still so much work to be done. This is just the start of the process for us.”
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.
