Canada co-host the World Cup and face high expectations despite never winning a match at a previous tournament. After a Concacaf Nations League semi-final defeat to Mexico in March 2025, Canada lost only one of 15 matches, including wins over the USA twice in the past two years, including their first victory on US soil in 57 years. Coach Jesse Marsch has used a consistent 4-4-2 system emphasizing pressing from the front and pace in wide positions. Success has relied on a defensive structure developed early, including clean sheets in nine of 13 matches before pre-tournament friendlies. Moise Bombito and Alphonso Davies missed those matches due to injury.
"Since a Concacaf Nations League semi-final defeat to Mexico in March 2025 the team have lost one of 15 matches at the time of writing, a run that has included some excellent opponents such as Colombia, Ecuador, Ukraine and the USA, whom they have defeated twice in the past two years, including their first win on US soil in 57 years."
"The coach, Jesse Marsch, has maintained a consistent 4-4-2 with the emphasis on pressing from the front and pace in wide positions. Some teams press to win the ball back, we press to punish and think about scoring immediately when we recover the ball, said Marsch, who is American, but has captured the hearts of many Canadians since he took the job in May 2024 and guided the team to the semi-finals of the Copa America."
"Success at that tournament, and subsequently in friendlies, is based on a defensive structure Marsch worked on immediately when taking the job and playing against the Netherlands and France in his first two matches in charge. Nine clean sheets in 13 matches before the pre-tournament friendlies is even more impressive considering Moise Bombito, their star centre-back from Nice, and Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies did not play in any of those matches because of injury."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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