Post-Match Press Conference: Canada's Jesse Marsch On 3-0 Loss To Morocco

[0:00] um listen really good world cup really good performance today yeah but a loss yeah how do [0:06] canada get to the point where they can start winning these games poof i mean i think we showed [0:14] that in this tournament that we we can win big games you know i mean and since i've been here [0:19] we we won big games at cope america we won big games since i've been here i mean before the [0:24] tournament if we would have said round of 16 i think we would have been pretty satisfied and if [0:28] we would and by the way before today if you would have said your team's going to play like that [0:32] right i would have said okay there's a good chance we're going to win the match i thought we totally [0:37] totally controlled the number seven team in the world in the first half totally total control [0:42] total control there was one team on the pitch right and then we weren't able to make the play [0:46] and even at the start of the second half we were the we were the aggressor we were the ones in control [0:51] the match we were the ones that looked more likely to score and so they make a they score a goal and [0:56] goals change games and then you know they can sit back a little bit more we have to find ways to push [1:01] a little bit and then it winds up being two and then a third at the end but the way we pushed the [1:06] way we were in the match the the quality we showed um the the the the overall impact in the match we [1:14] were better we were better than the number seven team in the world today uh joe right next to james [1:19] joe callahan toronto star jesse just one quickly which is alfonso davy's status and what the situation [1:27] was with an injury today and then if you don't mind on the set piece for the first goal there are five canada [1:33] five moroccans in the box and 10 canadians within 12 yards of max what happened there the switch off [1:39] no we so first with alfonso he didn't feel right yesterday in training and we got an mri [1:47] and and it was clear so the good news was that there was no injury but he didn't his hamstring [1:52] didn't feel right and this we were hoping that by the time this morning he woke up that he would [1:56] feel better but he didn't and so we wanted to be cautious and make sure that we weren't risking [2:01] anything and obviously at the 60th minute when it's 1-0 would have been great to have him in the [2:05] match or even at halftime right but but we weren't able to to have him healthy and it killed him more [2:11] than anyone but i think it was the right decision to preserve him in his his career and get him fully [2:17] healthy um yeah the set piece look they were really dangerous in a lot of those side free kicks [2:23] in the near post zone so we didn't want to leave that space open and i think that they just [2:28] audibled and played a ball back and we didn't deal well with it so um it's a shame it's a good finish [2:35] you know also i don't think the foul was necessary on on the wing i think luke could have just stood [2:39] him up and and there was no need to follow him in that situation because it was almost like they [2:43] weren't going to get themselves into the game unless they had a fortuitous situation like this so [2:49] we're still developing our our overall understanding of the best games and how to win them but we've won a [2:55] fair share right and and and again if i was really adamant that we needed to be at our best today [3:04] and i was really demanding of them to be brave with the ball against the ball to really make it hard [3:11] on the opponent and i wanted them to show that they believed that they could be better and they did [3:18] black shirt black shirt hey black shirt hi i'm black shirt uh jisoo with darby magazine um before i get to [3:27] my question i just want to say i guess as someone part of the canadian football culture we just want [3:31] to thank you for making us dream because before we never believed we'd ever make it this far so we [3:36] just want to say thank you awesome and um speaking on the youth we noticed that uh nico segura started [3:42] yeah and the last game south africa when he came on he was immediately effective so i just wanted to see [3:47] your feedback how you felt he played today because he looked very brave out there yeah i thought nico was [3:52] outstanding outstanding outstanding maybe our best player on the day the ground he covered the [3:57] solutions he had on the ball the amount of ball winnings he had in the midfield his his ease at [4:03] seeing plays and making plays his ground he covered duels he won i thought nico was outstanding outstanding [4:12] like we have a big a big player for the future and i thought him and steph controlled the match in the [4:16] middle of the field like was really against against a midfield that is i think really good i thought they [4:21] were both outstanding really good and thank you thank you for your words i i'm i'm very proud to [4:26] be the canadian national team coach and i'm and as proud as i am i'm even more proud of the way our [4:31] boys played today yep right here second row and then right behind you uh coach uh hard luck today for [4:37] for this game uh we've seen you talking to the uh moroccan coach mohammed what was his message and also [4:45] uh how do you see this moroccan team in this tournament can this team go further thank you yeah i mean [4:53] what what you saw today is as well as we played we were they they bended they were bending a little [4:58] bit but they didn't break you know the coach and i just had a good respectful conversation about the [5:03] performances of each other's teams i wished him luck he he complimented our team um you know i i enjoy [5:10] respectful coaches and and and i and i enjoy coaches that that coach a good brand of football and coach [5:17] good teams um and i think that for sure oh wow he uh has done a great job with the national team [5:22] on another day though on another day maybe we get the lead and maybe we get the win yep right behind [5:28] you yep the lady right behind the man that just asked the question thank you hey coach christy rican [5:41] from the associated press can you talk big picture about just what this means to canadian soccer [5:46] and how you hope to build on what you guys did this year yeah it's always hard in these moments right [5:51] like you you go into a home world cup and everyone's just focused on how hard can we push how far can [5:56] we take this thing and so after you lose and you get knocked out of the tournament especially when you [6:01] play really well it's really tough to swallow however i challenge the players first of all i told them that i [6:08] was proud of them and i challenged them to understand that we can play like this all the time like [6:15] against the best teams in the world we can be better on the day and then the challenge is can we hold [6:21] that standard for 90 minutes can we make sure that we continue to build the depth of what we're doing [6:26] with the team can we build that into our youth national teams can we build a real canadian dna [6:31] into what the kind of football we want to play into the kind of infrastructure we want to have into [6:35] the kind of academies and the way we teach the game but in terms of the commitment of the group and [6:42] and making the country proud and making the program proud like they couldn't have done more and and by the [6:48] way and dealing with injuries and question marks and things being unsure and on so many different [6:53] levels the group stayed strong throughout throughout the tournament far right and then right in front [6:59] of him right afterwards in the hat uh call kelly globe and mail jesse can now that the tournament's [7:03] over can you describe in a more detailed way alphonso davies injury and how it progressed throughout [7:10] yeah he had a hamstring injury that he was recovering from he was on a very linear path up until two days ago [7:16] and then he felt a little something it turned out that it wasn't anything significant but we didn't [7:21] he didn't feel right and we didn't want to stress it but other than that the progression and the [7:25] and the routine that we put him through in his return to play was really good and really disciplined [7:30] peter warren houston chronicle jesse you talked about being the aggressor in the first half and [7:36] the start of second half what did you think of the physicality of of today's game yeah i mean look [7:42] uh we we we we have a physical team and we have a fast and athletic team and we're always going to try to [7:48] impose our will on on opponents and i thought morocco had a real tough time dealing with our pressing [7:53] schemes dealing with our physicality and then dealing with our football that we played until the first [7:57] goal and then the goal changed the game a little bit we had to push a little bit more the game then [8:01] opened up and then we were a little bit more susceptible on the counter a few times so you know [8:07] we could have potentially like even the second goal it's a bad giveaway that we don't have to [8:12] uh concede we could have just stayed in the game and continued pushing and stayed disciplined and [8:17] and that was my message at the water break stay disciplined stay focused we'll get our chances [8:22] just not giving away the second one but almost immediately we gave a ball away that led to a big [8:27] counter and then and cost us but in general um our approach to the match our our confidence to be who [8:35] we wanted to be and our our idea of the football we wanted to play was outstanding two in the same row [8:43] hi jesse tarik panji from the new york times um just at the end there i was straining to see [8:50] you pulled your fingertips together what were you what you're trying to tell them in the in that huddle [8:54] they we to me it looked like you were telling them how close they they got today but maybe you could [8:58] share a bit on that and then another part of this in terms of you and your relationship with this [9:04] country they've really taken to you what can you describe that relationship you feel with with [9:10] canada right now thank you i think if i remember correctly i think i was saying like you know the [9:15] the smallest details make a difference when you're on top of the match and the ability to be the the [9:19] one that makes those plays and is on top of those details is the difference my love of being the canadian [9:26] national team coach and my love of this team and these players and and and of uh representing the [9:34] country is immense um you know i coached the montreal impact in 2012 and it was a new experience for me [9:42] living in a different country um you know working in a different country but as now i've taken on this [9:50] new role and the support that i've been given the belief in what we've been doing the the the desire [9:56] for people to really want to work together to support the the national team to support our players [10:03] to not be overly critical of them to enjoy the the personalities they have to enjoy the quality [10:08] they have to understand that it's a privilege to have now a canadian national team competing on [10:13] the international level at levels that had never been dreamed of 10 years ago like i think that [10:19] there's real excitement with that excitement comes higher expectation right so next world cup [10:25] everyone's gonna say that anything less than the round of 16 is a failure right anything less than the [10:30] next cup america than the semi-finals a failure we enjoy those expectations and again nobody has [10:36] higher expectations of ourselves than us right nobody's more disappointed in the fact that we [10:41] lost a game that we were very much in control of than ourselves and so we have to swallow that pride we [10:46] have to continue to think about how to be get better be humble to the fact that we have a lot more [10:50] to work to do and commit ourselves to it every time we're together and that's what we will do [10:55] we'll finish it off with uh you sir on the side yep hi hi justin nick miller from the athletic um [11:01] just one more question about alfonso davis was there any circumstance today in which he could have [11:07] played um and can i also ask about the the the process of making that decision i mean presumably [11:13] it's your final call but who else do you kind of consult with when you're making that no he wasn't [11:17] going to play at all and it was relatively simple we had a meeting with our medical team last night and [11:23] and and we hoped that he would feel better in the morning and we were going to then review things [11:27] at warm-up but at warm-up he didn't feel better he even tried he wanted to play so bad he went and [11:31] tried to get going himself at halftime and he said he just wasn't right so we didn't want to risk it [11:36] i think it was the right decision