The American Dream has been alive and well at the 2024 Copa America. And it’s been lived by Canada under Jesse Marsch.
The South America championship held in the United States this summer was supposed to be where the USMNT would show their mettle against elite international competition ahead of a World Cup on home soil in two years’ time; where a so-called ‘Golden Generation’ of Europe-based talent would take the next crucial step in their development and prove they belong among the big hitters of the world game.
Jesse Marsch interviewed for the then-vacant USMNT job in the months after the 2022 World Cup. He’d been sacked by Leeds United in February 2023, but with a still-intact reputation for being able to foster a positive working culture and install the kind of effective counter-pressing system espoused by the Red Bull-owned clubs with whom he’d made his name, he was keen to bounce quickly back into management by taking charge of the national team.
A 4-0 loss to the Dutch on June 6 was a less-than-ideal start, but a credible goalless draw with France three days later showed signs of the success to come. Even in a 2-0 defeat to Argentina, the Canadians disrupted the flow of Messi and co. with a defensive rigidity that is quickly becoming their hallmark. A 1-0 win over Peru and a 0-0 draw with Chile allowed them to unexpectedly progress from their group.
Canada are far from the finished product under Marsch, and the manager knows it. For instance, despite a commitment to fast, direct attacking play, they scored only two goals at the Copa America. But even accepting their deficiencies and the work still to be done, they have provided clear evidence of what can be achieved in international football with cohesive coaching and a collective spirit.
Their presence among the Copa America’s last four should not be seen as a heralding of Canada’s arrival as major players on the international scene. They are, after all, currently 48th in the FIFA World Rankings, a full 24 spots behind the next-lowest-ranked semi-finalists, Uruguay.
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