Marsch insists Canada will ‘get after it’ in LA after home loss and says ‘Alphonso Davies will be ready’
Jesse Marsch insists Canada will “get after it” in Los Angeles after losing at home in the World Cup by finishing second in Group B.
A 2-1 loss to the hosts Switzerland means they will now travel to Los Angeles in the round of 32 – instead of staying in Vancouver in front of their home crowd, but Marsh was optimistic after guiding the Canucks to their first ever title.
The former Leeds manager told ITV: “Look, it was good, and that’s disappointing, that we want to continue the momentum that’s happening here in Canada.
“I’ve been through this World Cup, and I’ve been through different big moments in my career, and I know that when you get one big win, like building on that, it’s very important.
“I’m disappointed that we couldn’t get a win or a draw today to stay here. I’m very grateful for the energy in the country, and certainly in the stadium here today.
“But we’re going to go to LA, we’re going to go where there’s going to be a crowd that’s not there, and it’s going to be a little tough, but we still want to electrify our country and play really well down there, and follow it.
“Nevertheless, we are in the place we want to be, we came second in the group, we are in the playoffs, now let’s go.”
‘Alphonso Davies will be ready for the next game’
Canada were the first to lose in the final with goals from Ruben Vargas and Johan Mamzambi in the second half, while Promise David’s own goal was not enough to avoid defeat.
The Canucks have impressed in the World Cup so far despite playing all but the star Alphonso Davies due to injury, but Marsch insisted that he will have a game against Bayern Munich in the next game.
Asked why he was not included in the run-up to the game, the Canadian manager said: “Alphonso will be ready.”
“We thought [bringing on] Alphonso, but we were like trying to just manage him and not put him in a day where we felt he was in danger, but he should be ready for the next game.”
Marsch rues is a tactical error
Marsch admitted that he regrets not changing his situation to five at the back at half-time, and the Swiss scored just 40 seconds into the break, meaning they were chasing the game until the end of 90 minutes.
He expressed pride in the way Canada played but said they need to improve in important moments to remain competitive in this World Cup.
“Well, look, I know our team has heart, right?,” he added. “I know we have a team that will give everything every time, and that is something to be proud of, and we manage the small moments.
“Even when the game started, I thought we waited a little bit, and we didn’t have enough aggressiveness, and we didn’t run enough, and we didn’t have enough aggressiveness, but we will focus on the positive.
“We will again focus on responding, playing well from the bench. The thing I wish I could have done differently is that I was thinking of going to the back five to really close things off during the break.
“And when we go out like that, then obviously I wish I had done that. I think I should have done that.”
