VANCOUVER — Canadian soccer coach Jesse Marsch says his squad needs to rapidly figure out how to compete against top-tier opponents after a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland on Wednesday eliminated their chance to host a knockout round game on home turf.
Canada entered the match needing just a tie to finish atop Group B and earn a round-of-32 game in Vancouver. Instead, they came out flat against the Swiss and ultimately paid the price, surrendering two second-half goals before a late comeback attempt came up short.
“Switzerland is a very good team, a very experienced team, a very intelligent team, and I think that showed today,” Marsch told reporters after the match.
“We need to continue to understand how to handle those kinds of opponents, how to handle those kinds of games, and we got to do it quickly because we’re going to be in the knockout phase, which is exactly where we wanted to be,” he added.
Ruben Vargas got the scoring started just 40 seconds after halftime, drilling a hard, low shot past goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. Johan Manzambi then added his third goal of the tournament, quieting the sea of red-clad fans packed into BC Place.
Canada’s offense finally came to life when Marsch turned to his substitutes. Promise David made an immediate impact, scoring on his very first touch after Nathan Saliba redirected a cross into his path. Alistair Johnston nearly tied things up with a header at the back post during stoppage time, but the effort wasn’t enough. The loss extended Canada’s winless streak against European teams at the World Cup to seven consecutive matches.
Marsch identified a tendency to play cautiously in high-pressure moments as a central problem for his side.
“Everything that we work on and work through is about really being aggressive and using our athleticism and our team speed,” he said. “The only thing that I feel is that when the occasion is momentous, players get a little tighter and their natural reaction is to hold back a little bit more, instead of going for it more.”
With the group stage now behind them, Canada must make the trip to Los Angeles for their next match, a far cry from the familiar surroundings of Vancouver where they played all three of their group stage contests.
Despite the disappointment, Marsch worked to keep spirits high in his post-match comments.
“We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to push for the next match and find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it’ll be from Los Angeles,” he said.
“We came up a little short, and that’s unfortunate. But we’re in the knockout round, and we’re going to make sure that we’re up for it better,” Marsch concluded.
