OverDrive - Marsch on Canada at the FIFA World Cup, the squad look and Alphonso Davies

Episode Date: June 3, 2026

Canada Soccer head coach Jesse Marsch joined OverDrive to discuss Canada set to play in the FIFA World Cup, the foundation of the roster for the tournament, Alphonso Davies' impact and his track to return, the squad structure for Canada, ramping up the team for the matches, his contract extension with Canada Soccer and more.

Catch everything soccer with Bell's game time bundle. Get 5 TV with TSN plus 5150 Internet, all for $99 a month. Price guaranteed for two years with a two-year internet and TV term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. Let's bring in the head coach of the men's national team. There he is Jesse Marsh. How you doing, Jesse?

What's up, guys? I can't believe this. I'm like an active now guest here. Yes. You guys are football fans. Amazing. We're all in. We're all in.

feeling now that you're through the selection process and I understand you've got to make more selections because we've had an injury even since Friday but it does it does it feel like there's more relief is there more I don't want to say you're relaxed around the camp but now that everyone's made it and everyone knows kind of who's going to be a part of this program how would you compare the vibes today to even a few weeks ago yeah well I think there's been a real like lasered in attention span and and focus to to make sure that we cap. capture the games, capture the moment for the country. So, you know, I'm really fortunate to have an incredible group of guys that are very selfless, very committed to this program, are so excited for the World Cup, the Home World Cup.

So, you know, it's actually been more about just trying to keep everybody, like, calm and confident about what we're doing. And that part, I think, will help us focus on what it will take to be successful in these matches. So there's clear excitement, but I think the concentration to do what. what we need to do to make sure we can win has really been at the forefront. Coaches are always thinking, like, is there one thing that, like, kind of keeps you up at night, or is it just a bunch of different things, planning, injuries, who's going to go? Like, what kind of gets your attention before your head hits the pillow? Well, look, I think we've, if you've followed things publicly, almost everything I get in the media now

is about our injury situation, because we've had a lot of guys that are coming back. So, you know, I'm focusing so much on trying to really think about the loading, the return to play protocols, everything from Alfonso Davies to Moise Bambito to Promise David. Like, we've got a lot of guys that are coming back from injury. And I just don't want to have any setbacks. And I want to give this team the chance to have, you know, their best weapons, best players, the full complement of talent available so that we can really give ourselves the best chance to be successful. Well, Alfonso said he's not going to be available for that first match against Bosnia. You mentioned Bombito. You limped off the pitch the other day.

What is the update? What can you tell us about his status? Yeah, Moise is feeling a little bit of sensitivity and where he broke his tibia. But we're still really hopeful that he had a day off today to really help recover and regenerate a little bit so that he can be ready to go for the next match against Ireland. And Alfonso, like, look, I know that he's had some injuries, and I know that the plan is that he won't be back for the first match. But he's a freak athlete, man, and this guy is a competitor. So, you know, without trying to put pressure on him, like, you know, I really believe in Alfonso. And so we're taking it day by day.

We're really trying to monitor where we are with everyone, but specifically Alfonso. So he's shown to be a quick healer over the years. We obviously know what an incredible athlete he is. So I'm not counting him out of anything. I like it. We obviously want to get him back, and we want to get him back at his top form, and we don't want to risk setbacks. But I know the kind of competitor Alfonso is,

and I know the kind of athlete. So he's going to play in this tournament. So how can he help you when he's not playing? By being around or being a mentor, being a good teammate? How does he help? You know, I mean, you guys know this. When you're around the best players, they have a different kind of aura. When they step into the room, there's an energy shift. And so the minute that Alfonso ever walks into this team, and especially the fact that we haven't seen him a while, the impact on the rest of the team, the confidence they feel, the desire they feel to make sure they can give him a chance to play in this tournament, right? all of a sudden everything sort of shifts and you start to feel like greatness and so how lucky are we at Canada to have a player like that first of all and then i think that his overall positivity the smile on his face the energy that he exudes every time he's around how much he loves playing for the national team has a big impact on the overall group with jessie marsh again world cup kicking off next week on ts n canada bosnia down at toronto state

on Friday kickoff just after 3 p.m. And, you know, Alfonso was obviously a big part of the last World Cup experience. And you do have a number of carryover players. You got a lot of new players as well. But you have some veterans that were there a few years ago in Qatar. What do you hope the kind of veterans of the World Cup in the past, the experience that they gain from that, that they can apply to this World Cup? Yeah, no.

Look, I think last World Cup, it was almost an anomaly. Like, the team did so well to qualify for the World Cup, but it was new for everyone. And, I mean, you're talking about the Federation, the coaching staff, the players, everyone. This was all a new experience. I think that there's now that they've got that in their back pocket, and they kind of understand how to handle the hype and all the attention around it, and that really the biggest, most important thing is the focus on the actual match, along with Copa America's success that we had two years ago,

along with the fact that we have a lot of players playing at big clubs and playing in Champions League every week, I think means that their overall understanding and expectation for what big games are and how to handle them is different. And so, of course, a home world cup is still a massive experience. It's something that they're all really excited about. But I think that it's lessened the overall pressure and nervousness. of what the experience will be, and that's allowed us all to really laser in on again.

Like, okay, here's the opponent. Here's what it's going to require to beat them. Here's what we have to be good at. Focus on how we want to play, who we want to be. And by the way, we're a pretty good team. Yeah. You know, so I think we've climbed the FIFA rankings. We haven't lost many matches in the last two years.

You know, we don't give away many shots. We don't give away many goals. Like, this team has grown into something that I think was difficult for, any opponent. And that's really if you want to talk about it, our main goal is to make sure that we are very hard to play against, that we give hell to every single opponent, and we know that we have some firepower. We know we can score goals. So I think we're at a point now where, of course, we know that the World Cup is a different level of attention and play and everything, but this team really doesn't fear anyone. And that's something we should be proud of as

Canadians. Well, you guys got past Uzbekistan the other night. You've got Ireland, in Montreal as your final tune-up on Friday, what are you hoping, you know, you can gain out of that final match before you actually get to the real stuff? Yeah, I think, you know, to Uzbekistan was a good performance, but I think we know we have to be better. And the attention to detail and the intensity will be higher in this match.

And then, you know, this puts us one week out from, you know, a big match. The other part about Uzbekistan is we did a big, physical fitness element when we were down in Carolina. So the players weren't all fully at like fresh, 100% freshness. And now we'll give them a little bit more time to recover and recharge and now let them fly. So I expect a really strong performance against Ireland, which will give us confidence going into the first match against Bosnia. Then we'll use that last week to prepare and get ready in every way to make sure that we

make this country proud. So Jesse, you're going to manage minutes still. and just kind of make sure everybody's feeling, you know, right heading into that last week. Is that the thought process in this last friendly? You know, it's still the last preparation. So we'll probably ramp up minutes for certain players. You know, we'll measure things carefully to make sure that each player is kind of getting what they need, but then also make sure that we get the kind of performance as a team that we need.

We've also scheduled a practice match the next day against a, a U.S. semi-pro team. So, like, to make sure that all the players get what they need from a fitness and tactical perspective in this last week before we head into the move to Toronto and the match against Bosnia. So, you know, that's the, we've really tried to kind of build things in this overall process so we can get guys fit.

We'll get guys healthy first from injuries, then get guys fit, and then ramp them up as we go along so that in that first match, they're ready to fly. So since the last time we've had you on, Jesse, you've signed yourself an extension with the program. You're going to be up here for quite a number of years beyond this World Cup. Take us through... Give me some more appearances on your show. Yes, exactly. You're always welcome.

I put that in my contract. As you should. I've got to have at least once a month. As you should, absolutely. You didn't do that. I can't imagine that actually happened. So why is this connection worked so well for you? and, you know, your commitment to the program, why is that important for you?

Well, you know, I mean, my day job is to get this first team right, you know, to make sure in the big tournaments that we are ready to represent the country and play at our best. But the passion project that I've had since I've been here is building the sport in the country, you know, and soccer is widely talked about in Canada as the highest played sport by youth, but it doesn't always translate to the higher levels because the overall. infrastructure and then development paths haven't been ironed out. And it starts a lot with what we've been lacking as a federation. So with Kevin Blue, the Secretary General, with Peter Agruzzo, the president of Canada soccer, you know, our vision is to build an infrastructure, everything from a training facility to more robust youth teams and programs, and to also build a style of play, like an identity of the way we want the game to be. And I'll be, we've, guys, we've used Canada hockey in so many ways as the beacon of what we can achieve in this

country. So we're not trying to take this country away from being a hockey country. We all know how passionate everyone is about the sport here. But we do think that along with basketball, soccer can continue to grow and we can really use the athletic qualities that we have of the kids and of the youth and really start to build something that can be sustainable and very successful for the future. So that part is really exciting. There's a lot of people in the communities that I think really want to work together and help the sport grow. And we just want to channel everybody's energies in the right way so that we can give our kids the best chance to be great. Yeah, we love hearing that. And the biggest platform you could ask for begins in about nine days from now, a home world cup. We are absolutely ecstatic. We cannot wait to get things going next week. I know people in Toronto, people in Vancouver have been waiting a long, long time. And obviously you and your crew have been waiting a long, long time as well. So best of luck as of next Friday and beyond and I guess we'll catch up monthly for the next

four years at least. Thank you, Jesse. Yeah, well, look, when we get to the knockouts, right? Absolutely. You got it. Lock us in. Thanks, Jesse. Good luck. All right, guys. Thanks, man. You got it. Jesse Marsh, head coach of the Canadian men's national team. I'm

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