The Canadian men faced elite opposition in 2024 and can expect more of the same next year in the lead-up to co-hosting the World Cup in 2026, says coach Jesse Marsch.
A fourth-place finish in Canada's first trip to Copa America this summer provided some memorable moments in a year that saw the Canadian men, currently ranked a career-high No 31, face six top-20 teams in No. 1 Argentina (twice), No. 2 France, the seventh-ranked Netherlands, No. 11 Uruguay, the 16th-ranked U.S. and No. 19 Mexico.
Marsch says Canada Soccer is working on an equally challenging 2025 schedule, looking to play friendlies against "big" European, African and South American nations.
"Looking at the schedule, it's really daunting to think about some of the teams that we're likely to play and what that will look at. What those challenges are," Marsch said with a chuckle.
"But my philosophy has been that giving those big challenges has been a key elements of the standards that we've able to create. I know we'll be more prepared for them than we were at the beginning of our time together. But it will still mean we have to be at our best for a lot of these games."
First up is the CONCACAF Nations League finals with Canada facing defending champion Mexico in one semifinal and the U.S. taking on Panama in the other. Both games are scheduled for March 20 in Inglewood, Calif.
The Canadian men then focus on the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2025 with Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium joining 13 U.S. venues for the 16-country tournament that runs June 14 to July 6. The tournament will be preceded by an international window at the start of the month.
There are also international windows in September, October and November.
Marsch expects a good number of Canada's matches to be staged on home soil while saying some may take place south of the border against opponents also playing the U.S.
Montreal is one likely home destination.
"We're trying to come up with more ways to play in more places than just Toronto," said Marsch.
Canada posted a 6-3-5 record in 2024, with one of the draws turning into a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay and another to a shootout win over Venezuela en route to the fourth-place Copa finish.
"I hoped by this point that we'd be somewhere where we are (now)," Marsch said. "But what I was really surprised at is how quickly they grasped onto things from the beginning.
"The fact that they've been so smart and they've kind of been able to understand what I'm trying to do with them has allowed us to be very aggressive with everything — aggressive with the way we play, aggressive with how we run the environment, aggressive with the expectations we've created for each other. It's really allowed us to build trust quickly.
"That part's been incredibly fun and impressive from their perspective."
Marsch cites "a real growing sense of the self-belief of this team, which is an exciting proposition for the challenges that lie ahead."
Appointed coach of then-No. 49 Canada on May 13, Marsch has played 33 different players in his 13 matches in charge. But he relied on a core group with 13 players taking the field nine or more times.
Marsch is happy at those numbers and not surprised at the use of that core group, saying there is a portion of his roster "that we know is a bit ahead of the rest."
"The key to our journey is that when we get to 2026, we have 26 players that fully are prepared to perform at the highest level under the biggest demands," he said. "I think we're getting to there.
"But I probably would say I'm pleased with the 33 (players), but the 13 I would like to look more like 17 for now."
Mauro Biello was interim coach for the first game of the year, a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in a Copa America play-in game.
The Canadian men outscored their opposition 14-13 in 2024 with eight of the Canada goals coming in a five-game unbeaten run (4-0-1) against CONCACAF opposition to close out the year. Canada was outscored 7-4 in six games at Copa America.
Jonathan David scored five goals and added four assists in 2024 to pass Cyle Larin with a Canadian-record 31 goals in total (Larin has 30). At club level, David leads France's Ligue 1 with 11 goals in 14 games and reached the 1o0-goal milestone earlier this month for Lille, nearing the club record of 112 set by the late Andre Stappe in the '50s.
David and Canada captain Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), with their contracts expiring at the end of the current season, have both drawn interest from top European clubs. David has expressed interest in the English Premier League but could end up at a top Italian club if he doesn't get a suitable English offer.
Moise Bombito (Nice, France), Derek Cornelius (Marseille, France), Theo Bair (Auxerre, France) all made big moves during the year. Alistair Johnston continues to be a constant in the Celtic lineup, even captaining the Scottish side.
Bottom line is Marsch is smiling these days.
"I've used this phrase a lot and my agent tells me not to. But there's a few jobs I've had where I feel like I was paid a lot of money and it wasn't enough," he said. "My goal has always been to find jobs that I would do for free. And I've been lucky to have some of those. This one is one of those jobs.
"I have enjoyed every moment. I enjoy the people I work with. I enjoy the players … There's a lot of people that want to get behind what we're trying to create and that's super-exciting."
Marsch and wife Kim plan a family Christmas at their home in Tuscany, Italy, with their three kids flying in. The Marschs are also building a house in Mexico.
"We've kind of decided that we're only going to live in the warm weather," Marsch said with a laugh.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
