INGLEWOOD — Jesse Marsch has been coach of the Canadian men’s national soccer team for less than a year and is no stranger to making noise.
The former U.S. national team player led Canada to last year’s Copa America, advancing to the third-place game in his first tournament. Canada eventually finished fourth.
As the busy soccer calendar turns toward next month’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, leading into the Gold Cup and eventually next year’s FIFA World Cup, the Wisconsin native had a strong reaction to the current political climate in the U.S., including President Donald Trump’s recent comments on Canada becoming the 51st state.
Marsch’s reaction came less than a week after the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament, at which “The Star-Spangled Banner’ was booed before a game in Montreal.
“These international tournaments for Canada mean something different now,” Marsch said at Wednesday’s CONCACAF Nations League Media Day event at SoFi Stadium. “As an American, I’d like to address the 51st state discourse, which I find unsettling and frankly insulting.
“Canada is a strong, independent nation that’s deep-rooted in decency, really. It’s a place that values high ethics and respect, unlike the polarizing, disrespectful and often now hate-fueled climate that’s in the U.S. Canada values a lot of fairness and unity. It’s a place that I’ve learned as the national team coach where people really believe that their differences make them stronger and honestly, it’s one of the things that I’ve enjoyed the most about our team is that they exemplify this as human beings and as a team. They’re almost all first- and second-generation Canadians, from different heritage and cultures, but they uniquely are incredibly proud to be Canadian, to represent their country, to give everything to each other and the love that they have for each other and playing for their country.
“….To me, right now, I couldn’t be prouder to be the Canadian national team coach. I found a place that embodies for me the ideals and morals of not just what football and a team is, but what life is. That’s integrity, respect and the belief that good people can do great things together. So, if I have one message to our president, it’s lay off the ridiculous rhetoric about Canada being the 51st state. As an American, I’m ashamed of the arrogance and disregard that we’ve shown one of our historically oldest, strongest and most loyal allies.
Canada opens the semifinals against Mexico at 7:30 p.m. March 20 at SoFi Stadium. The Americans, winners of the first three Nations League tournaments, will face Panama in the opener at 4 p.m.
The winners will meet March 23 in the final, with the semifinal losers playing in the third-place game. SoFi Stadium will also host the 2027 competition.
The USMNT defeated Mexico in 2021 and 2024 and Canada in 2023.
“I know this will fuel our team,” Marsch said. “The mentality we have, the will we have to play for our country, the desire we have to go after this tournament in every way and to show on and off the pitch exactly what Canadian character is. I really look forward to the challenge of playing Mexico and the tournament as a whole and I guarantee that our team will be ready.”