Jesse Marsch, a former Leeds United manager, lost 2-0 against Argentina in his first competitive match as Canada’s manager at the Copa America.
Marsch’s team was playing in the prelude to this summer’s tournament in the United States, and they couldn’t have asked for a tougher opponent.
Canada faced both the Copa America and World Cup champions, but they did not disappoint, going into the interval equal before second-half goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.
This was Canada’s first match in this tournament, therefore Marsch, back in his home country of the United States, was making history by leading his new team out.
Until his hiring last month, Marsch had been out of work since his dismissal from Leeds in February 2023, with Canada’s press statement featuring some intriguing comments about his tenure there.
Canadian media delivers verdict on Marsch methods against Argentina.
Marsch’s Canada played friendlies against the Netherlands and France earlier this month to prepare for their match against the world’s finest international team.
Canada was scoreless in both of those games, but managed a remarkable 0-0 tie away at the latter following a devastating 4-0 loss to the Netherlands.
Despite his losing record, the Canadian media has praised Marsch’s effect in all three matches.
Marsch has been complimented for the tactics he used in both friendlies, attributing their second-half collapse against the Dutch to simply running ‘out of gas’.
According to Canadian source SportsNet, Marsch approached the game against Argentina properly from a tactical standpoint, timing their ‘pressing moves to perfection’ and keeping Lionel Messi relatively quiet.
They wrote: “The early signs under Marsch, a 50-year-old Wisconsin native and a former MLS coach of the year, are promising and offer hope for a team that has taken a backward step since qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar…”
“He took a similar approach [tactically] against Argentina [as against the Netherlands and France], opting for a more pragmatic style in which Canada timed its pressing actions to perfection to create a number of counter-attacking opportunities, rather than returning to the high-intensity game that only worked for 45 minutes against the Dutch.”
“Canada’s mid-defensive block thwarted Argentina for long stretches, forcing the South Americans to play around them rather than through them.”
“This ended up limiting Messi’s influence on the night – he had a hand in setting up both goals, but he had a relatively quiet first half and didn’t run roughshod through the Canadian defence like so many pundits expected.”
Marsch is now preparing for a huge test of credentials against Chile and Peru
During Marsch’s tenure as Leeds manager, the team had the most success against some of the Premier League’s stronger sides, despite having little possession.
After spending the summer buying the players he wanted for his club, he oversaw victories over Chelsea and Liverpool. However, it was his performances against inferior opponents that failed him down.
Marsch is clearly very adept at coaching his team out of possession, but Leeds’ issue was more with possession, when they weren’t winning the ball high up the ground. His efforts are alleged to have confounded former owner Andrea Radrizzani.
Canada’s next group matches will be against Chile and Peru, both of which are far more evenly matched than Argentina.
Marsch’s side will thus see a lot more of the ball, and it will be interesting to see if he has progressed in that area in the 15 months since leaving Leeds.
