Jesse Marsch insists Canada will “go after it” in Los Angeles after losing home advantage at the World Cup by finishing second in Group B.
A 2-1 defeat to Switzerland for the co-hosts means that they will now travel to Los Angeles for the round-of-32 – instead of staying in Vancouver in front of a home crowd, but Marsh was still positive after guiding the Canucks to the knockout stages for the very first time.
The former Leeds boss said on ITV: “Look, it’s been awesome, and that’s the disappointment, is we just want to continue the energy that’s taken place here in Canada.
“I’ve been through these World Cups, 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 is so important.
“I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to get a win or a draw today to keep us here. I’m so thankful 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 it’s probably going to be an away crowd, and it’ll be a little bit tougher, but we still want to electrify our country and play really well down there, and go after it.
“Still, we’re, we’re exactly where we want to be. We finished second in the group, we’re in the knockout phase, and now let’s go for it.”
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‘Alphonso Davies will be ready for next match’
Canada became the first co-hosts to lose at the finals courtesy of second-half goals from Ruben Vargas and Johan Mamzambi, with Promise David’s strike not enough to avoid defeat.
The Canucks have still impressed at the World Cup so far despite playing the entirety of it without star man Alphonso Davies due to injury but Marsch insisted he will have the Bayern Munich man available for the next game.
Asked why he was not brought on as they chased the game, the Canada boss said: “Alphonso will be ready.
“We thought about [bringing on] Alphonso, but we were like trying to just manage him and not put him in a day in a situation where we felt like he would be at danger, but he should be ready for the next match.”
Marsch rues tactical error
Marsch admitted he regretted not changing his structure to five at the back at half-time, with the Swiss scoring only 40 seconds after the break, which meant they were chasing the game for the rest of the 90 minutes.
He expressed his pride in Canada’s performance but said they need to improve in the key moments to stay competitive at the this World Cup.
“Well, look, I know our team has heart, right?,” he added. “I know that we have a group that will give everything to every moment, and that is something to be so proud of, and just then managing little moments.
“Even the start of the game, I thought we were a little bit tentative, and not really aggressive, and not sprinting enough, and not aggressive enough, but we’re going to focus on the positives.
“We’re going to focus on the response again, good performances off the bench. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is that I was thinking about going to five in the back to really lock things down at halftime.
“And when we come out like that, then obviously I wish I would have done that. I think I should have done that.”
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