The ambitious Canadian men's national team coach made one thing clear – Les Rouges are at this tournament to win
It was a loss that gave Jesse Marsch hope for the first time. Canada didn’t equip themselves well against Mexico. They went down after 57 seconds, and although they dominated long periods of the play, lost 2-0 to a well-drilled side. That fixture was a classic act of falling short, slipping in the Nations League semifinal.
But for Marsch, that result in March was a sign that his Canada can compete in CONCACAF.
“I thought we were the better team in the first half, and then even up until the goal in the second half, Mexico barely crossed midfield,” Marsch told GOAL. “We were disappointed to lose that match, but when you just look at the performance itself, it was actually a positive.”
Perhaps that’s coach talk – a positive spin on a glorious failure. But talk to Marsch, listen to his carefully selected words, his drive and verve, and this is a man who believes what he’s saying. He’s now been in charge of the Canadian men's national team for a year, and heading into a Gold Cup that has suddenly become important, one thing is clear: Les Rouges are at this tournament to win.
“We believe that we're in the range of competing and winning that trophy,” he said. “And we're fixated on doing that.”
Imagn‘We will be comparing ourselves to them’
Since taking the Canada job, Marsch has gone about steadily relinquishing some of his American ties. In fact, the narrative around the Wisconsin native is one of a guy with a chip on his shoulder, criticizing his homeland from outside their borders. The former New York Red Bulls manager has positioned himself as very aware of the struggles of the U.S. men's national team – but entirely removed from them.
Repeatedly linked with the USMNT job, he was either spurned or withdrew himself from consideration, depending on which version of events you believe. Since then, he has undergone a dual act of rebuilding Canada’s national team, while making headlines for his comments about the USMNT from a distance.
outperformed the USMNT at Copa America – something he emphasized to GOAL on numerous occasions.
“We will be comparing ourselves to them. We want to go further. We want to do well for ourselves in the World Cup, but we want to do it again,” March admitted. “We did it in the Copa America.”
Marsch has few qualms about offering his often biting opinions about the state of the national team from the outside. He has been a repeated critic of U.S. soccer, appearing to question the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, who he had choice words about: “I don't think he has a real style, other than he's pragmatic.”
He has also been keenly aware, for example, of the split opinions around Christian Pulisic's decision not to play for the USMNT in the Gold Cup – something he referenced when reflecting on the commitment of his own side.
“There's been a certain dialogue with certain teams in the region about the Gold Cup and whether players want to come or not," he said. "I haven't had one discussion that's been like, 'Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it.' "
Outside of football, he hasn’t been quiet either. Marsch has expressed his disdain for President Donald Trump, and condemned rhetoric from the White House that has strained the relationship between the nations.
"As an American, I'm ashamed of the arrogance and disregard we've shown one of our historically oldest, strongest, and most loyal allies,” he said in February.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport‘There's a lot more work to do’
Even if Marsch has endeared himself to Canadian fans by embracing the culture and poking holes in the concept of American exceptionalism, there have been some clear challenges.
The most obvious came in March, when Alphonso Davies tore his ACL in the third place match between Canada and the U.S. Bayern Munich, Davies’ club side, put out a scathing statement, criticizing Marsch and the Canadian national team for allowing Davies to play – claiming that the manager knew his star man wasn’t fit. Things got out of hand quickly, with back-and-forth PR battles, and Davies’ agent weighing in. Marsch, for his part, was eager to move on.
“We’re all disappointed that (Davies) experienced this injury, but we’re incredibly focused on making sure that we’re going to all support him in the right way,” he said in April. “We’re going to use the opportunity to get to know each other and be stronger with our communication.”
That’s not the only issue. The team's financial difficulties are well documented. When Marsch took the job, the national team was short of cash. His official title is MLS Canada Men’s National Team Head Coach – partially a nod to the importance of North America’s top-flight league, but mostly because that trio of Canadian MLS teams had to chip in to fill out his salary.
In January, when a number of CONCACAF federations – including the U.S. – hold training camps, Marsch was forced to cobble together what few players he had available for a series of sessions in Miami.
And then there's the fact Marsch won't actually be coaching the first two matches of the Gold Cup. CONCACAF sanctioned him for multiple incidents in Nations League. The federation levied a one-game suspension for "unacceptable conduct towards the match officials and for delaying the restart of the match by refusing to leave the field of play."
That was added to the single-game suspension he was already set to serve after receiving a straight red card in the third-place match. As a result, Marsch will miss for Canada's matches against Honduras and Curaçao. The manager said he had zero regrets.
"If I had to do it again, I would," Marsch said after the suspension was levied, "It's not like I went into the game thinking, 'OK, I'm going to get thrown out.' "But I was definitely looking for opportunities to make a point."
Despite those issues, there is plenty of upside when he looks at his own roster.
Jonathan David has developed into a No. 9 coveted by top European clubs, and in Marsch’s words, “the smartest player I have ever coached.” There are others, too. Moise Bombito has come into his own at center-back, while Tajon Buchanan is realizing his potential as a wide attacking presence. Marsch insists that’s just the start, though.
“There's a lot more work to do," he said. "Feeling proud is great, but the relentlessness to continue to push for improvements and to continue to move things forward, is really the overwhelming feeling that I have."
Getty'Do they really feel Canadian?'
To compound that core of reliable talent, the manager has looked beyond Canadian borders to think about the future.
Part of the key to the success has been Marsch’s shrewd usage of the player pool. Canada is enjoying a rich vein of talent (Marsch refuses to call it a golden generation.) Perhaps the real key, though, has been taking a page out of the American playbook and exploring opportunities with dual-nationals.
It’s become a point of controversy in the United States, the polarizing pinching of talent that could play for multiple nations. Marsch has no problem with doing so – but admits that there are some non-negotiables. Chief among them: they have to be proud to wear the shirt.
“In their blood, do they really feel Canadian? And are they honored to be part of this? And, and that's been a lot of the discussion with all of them,” he said.
The process is exhaustive. Marsch had a few names in mind when he took the job. Some agents also reached out with pitches. And then there were the surprise ones.
Victor Orta was Marsch’s director of football during his 12 months as manager at Leeds. He got in touch with Marsch after seeing his Sevilla side matched up against a 6-5 forward in a preseason friendly. A year later, that No. 9, Promise David, was bagging goals for fun for Union SG in the Belgian League. After numerous conversations with Marsch – and plenty of chatter in social media – he pledged his international future to Canada in February 2025.
It has taken a lot of Zoom calls, too. Consider Gabe Biancheri, a jewel of the Man United academy born in Cardiff, Wales but with Italian and Canadian heritage. Marsch had conversations with both him and his parents to see if Canada would be the right fit.
“His dad is Italian, like, full of the accent and Italian and everything. And his mom is fully Canadian. So then talking to them about how they feel about it, what they think, and then also hearing what Gabe thinks,” he said. “These are fun conversations to think about the potential of what some of these young, talented people would mean to being part of the Canadian setup.”
Biancheri was also recruited by Wales, and hadn’t set foot in Canada until early June. But he had the heritage and cultural understanding. More importantly, though, Marsch insisted he would jell with the group – and deemed him the right fit.
The manager’s allure was enough. His current crop will back that up.
Veteran midfielder Samuel Piette told GOAL that Marsch has taken his game to another level. Jacob Shaffelburg, a workmanlike midfielder at Nashville, broke out at the 2024 Copa America, and gave Marsch all of the credit.
“Since Day 1, he's kind of understood what type of player I am, what I need to succeed, and everything he needs to do to help me get to where I should be,” Shaffelburg said.
Getty Images Sport'We really want to do something special'
It’s a good thing, too, with the World Cup coming up.
Canada are co-hosts of the tournament alongside the United States and Mexico, and Marsch will be expected to put on a show. The draw won’t take place until December, but Canada have already been assigned a schedule. He knows that if they top their grou, they could play two more games at home. It would be massive for the country.
“We really want to do something special, we want to stay on Canadian soil, and we want to engage our fan group, and continue to have a true home field advantage, and make sure that we give our, give ourselves to truly a chance to truly make history," he said.
Marsch says he never feels pressure. But he knows it comes with the territory.
“It's more internal pressure that we're putting on ourselves," he said. "It's a necessary and needed challenge, but it's like a welcomed challenge. I don't have to come to the meeting here and bring our 23 guys together and go, ‘Hey guys, do you think we should try to win this tournament?’”