Canada head coach Jesse Marsch talks with Derek Cornelius after the team's friendly match against Mexico on Sept. 10 in Arlington, Tex.Tony Gutierrez/The Associated Press
One of the mixed blessings of playing host to a FIFA men’s World Cup is the qualification process, or more specifically, the lack thereof. So while Canada doesn’t have to sweat out its appearance at the 2026 tournament – it receives an automatic berth as one of the three co-hosts – it also doesn’t get exposed to the rigmarole of the qualifying campaign, which can help forge a team’s resilience as well as a winning attitude.
Instead, Canada will subsist largely on a steady diet of friendlies over the next couple of years, complemented by the occasional Gold Cup or Nations League contest. After two friendlies in September produced a win and a draw – against the United States and Mexico, respectively – Canada gets another chance on Tuesday at home to Panama.
The game in Toronto – head coach Jesse Marsch’s first match on Canadian soil since he took the position back in May – offers the chance to experiment with the team’s personnel, lineup and strategies.
With that in mind, Marsch has handed three former Canadian youth internationals – Jamie Knight-Lebel, Kwasi Poku and Santiago López – their first call-ups to the senior setup. However, while giving young players exposure to the full international experience is nice – rubbing shoulders with the likes of captain Alphonso Davies and others – when it comes to Tuesday’s match, Marsch is still playing to win.
“We’ve brought in different players to look at and expose them to what we do in the national team,” he said Sunday. “But in the end, we still want to go out and win this game. No question.”
Thinking outside the box and trying new things is all well and good – provided it works. England’s interim national-team manager, Lee Carsley, found himself as Exhibit A of what can happen when it doesn’t. Starting three No. 10s and no recognized centre forward in what turned out to be a home defeat to Greece last week, Carsley was pilloried in the English media as a result, proving there’s a vast difference between dipping your toe in the water and pushing the boat all the way out.
Thanks to a respectable first 10 games in charge of the national team – two wins, five draws and three defeats – Marsch says the attention that has come onto the men’s team has largely been positive, thanks in no small part to the fourth-place finish at Copa America. But after coaching stops in the United States, Germany, Austria and England, the 50-year-old is used to being second-guessed in the media and elsewhere.
“I’m older, you know, I’m used to being scrutinized and being called an idiot,” he said. “But what I’m focused on is making sure that the players have the type of environment where they can still be themselves and where they can focus on what we’re trying to achieve, and they can enjoy getting better.”
That environment hasn’t gone unnoticed by the players, either.
Toronto FC fullback Richie Laryea has played under his fair share of coaches as a 29-year-old – six at TFC alone – and in the matches he’s played under Marsch has grown to appreciate the American coach’s ability to take his share of risk when it comes to team selection.
“I think obviously experimenting and trying new things is good, and we need to be able to, as guys have said in the past, grow the depth on the team, see different guys, see different guys in different positions,” Laryea said. “I think this summer was evident of that. You saw guys step in and do really well.”
Winger Jacob Shaffelburg and central defender Moïse Bombito were two such breakout stars who returned to the international fold under Marsch and proved to be some of the better players at Copa America.
And whether it’s moving Davies around on the field to maximize his speed and skill, or sliding Laryea on to the wing from his usual fullback position, Marsch isn’t afraid to tinker with what has mostly been a successful lineup.
“I think with Jesse now, it doesn’t really matter the opponent,” Laryea said. “ … I don’t think he’s scared to put guys into the lineup and stuff like that.
“ … This is the time for our country. Whenever we step out, it has to be a good result for us, because we want to be able to climb and build heading into 2026.”