OverDrive - Scianitti on Canada and Mexico's clash, the Nations League semifinal and Marsch's lineup formation

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

TSN Soccer Reporter Matthew Scianitti joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the CONCACAF Nations League, Canada's semifinal matchup against Mexico, Jesse Marsch's approach to the lineup, the World Cup trajectory for the country and more.

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They all so buzz much, yeah. Kane Brown's new album, The High Road, is available now. Here's our man Matthew Shinetti. What's happening, Matthew? Boys, what's going on? Not much, not much. Shinetti, I've always wanted to ask you this. You go to some fantastic places.

How do you get these pics taken? Is it like set up? Do you tell someone, hey, when I walk out there and take a pic, or how do they all come about? Oh, Doc, you know what? I can't reveal my secrets. Dude, you look good, buddy. And I'll always admit it, you look good, but how are they happening? You know what? Sometimes it really is intentional and by design. You got to let everybody know. If you're going to go ahead and look 50, you got to let the world know, oh, Doc. That's

it, bro. I appreciate that, man appreciate that i do i have respect for it and we need that we need our staff and we need people take inside the house and i was taking us serious enough to do it they wouldn't you know what you guys have uh... tonight to the good flex when you're on the broadcast but if you need anything i got a couple of years ago all right we need them and we need it do you you, dude. You better pick up your game. We need some side profile picks while we're in action.

But the weather looks beautiful out there. I just saw you and KJ doing a hit. Put this into perspective for us, Shinetti. Like how significant are the next two matches? I guess, you know, you don't want to put the car before the horse. But getting through Mexico, the idea of actually winning this thing, how significant is this for canadian soccer you know i got to put this into into ways is one

uh... beating mexico now if you know what the third of the upbeat top dog the pocket out of all the doubt that everything they did going out of copa america it's huge i'm not going to be able to balloon and say not winning would it be that big of a deal but the fact is justy marsh wanted for me to pull a little bit and it's the heat's gonna be real high here because Mexico shows out when they have an opportunity to support their team especially in LA when you figure that many of the Canadians you know the procedure playing in Europe is fantastic

but some of these Canadians have had to fly upwards of 12 hours across the globe to get here to Atlanta well about three quarters of twelve hours across the globe to get here to atlanta well about uh... record that i think you did have to go ahead and drive north of the border to get to l a but i think ultimately justy marshes said it again and again and again we want adversity and you are as much as a trophy means something to the likes of all parts of a visa johnson david stephen sack you know the lineup

for marsh is getting closer to 2026. Look at the friendlies that have announced this week. Ukraine is significant friendly than traveling to Romania, traveling to Wales. They're now starting to face those international friendlies, potentially teams that could face in the World Cup. But winning a trophy, I mean, look at the energy just in the country when Canada faced Argentina twice in the Copa America. These players feel it. They want the country to be behind them. But the fact

of the matter is this, winning does that and winning a trophy just escalates that even further. So these guys are aware of it. I spoke to Alfonso Davies two days ago. He's come, he got a big brand new contract with a lot of money from Bayern Munich. But the one thing he wants is a trophy to really assert Canada as a top dodge in contact. So in terms of the starting 11 tonight, I saw yourself talking about it, writing about it. I saw Stephen Caldwell the other night. Kyle Lahren is going to be starting and you know, he hasn't been playing a lot in Europe. Can you take us through the mentality there and the reasoning from Jesse Marsh as to why he's going with Lahren? Yeah, I know and the fact of the matter is that color of the corporate club in

laliga my orca since mid-december and i mean i don't know you guys when you guys go ahead of the big old court but we would believe if you're not scoring why are you playing away getting that many minutes the fact is that you look at kyle laren overall goal scoring record with canada second all-time vertical scored it when he scores canada don't lose

and the one thing about kyle laren and and i know it sounds odd but twenty nine years old he's not in the prime of his career anymore he's got a lot of mileage on the point he plays for canada he really does go all out and he allows johnson david who really is such a spark plug for this team at justy marsh in a number of places look at the polls or will

in the champion like this this year again some big big opposition but he but having color that left allows job david to move around the aggressive get the play and be able to that yet the end of the play in for the ball box you've just emerged after look at it

is bench is going to look at two big big bodies now because we've all heard that dave jefferson reform within the premier league and promise david from union change a rock in the belgian league these guys are posing figures who are younger they are eager and they have the legs really carry canada

jeffy marsh need them but justin mark but a lot of a big guy very very very loyal he's going to go with kyle erickson i did one of those big calls but people were tougher mat you mentioned the World Cup And I wondered how much you think this matters as like a springboard for them Into the World Cup like is it a respect thing is it a confidence thing like how much does this actually matter? Heading into next year. No Jonas. It's it's it's all confidence These guys will tell you Alistair Johnson will say over and over and over again, we

want to hold up a trophy. They had an opportunity a couple years ago in this competition and they lost in the final and it really hurt them. I think though that holding that trophy up for them signifies one thing, that this feeling that they have that the Mexicans and the Americans they don't look down on Canada necessarily anymore but there is still a bravado that the Americans have when they play the Canadians and a lot of that quite frankly is driven by the American media soccer machine that just pumps the tires of the Americans constantly and here's the fact if you

look at Canada's lineup player for player pound for pound it is as competitive and I would say in the key skill positions, more talented, more competitive than the Americans. Sure, maybe some people will go ahead and debate that Christian Polisic is the more talented player, but look at Canada's lineup. Look at the way that Jonathan Davidson plays. Look at Alfonso Davies, look at Alistair Johnson, look at Stefan Asakya. And yes, maybe someone like Ismael Kone has how's it been playing a lot? He got loaned out from Marseille after his coach called him out in the media. But here's the player, when he played in France in Bordeaux last year, was the player of the

game. There is natural talent on this Canadian team. If they can lift the trophy, it just gives them that sense and that ability as Marsh has been hammering over and over again. Tuck your chest up, put your chin up. You guys are the best in concrete calf, but really, you only can really say that if you win. What's it going to be like in that building, Shinetti? Is it going to be a gong show or what?

Oh, well, when the Mexicans come out, oh, dog, it's a different kind of atmosphere, man. But here's the funny thing. I watched Canada play against Argentina in Copa America, and then Peru and Chile and Venezuela and Argentina again inside MetLife Stadium. They're not fazed by any of this. If anything, the Canadians keep saying to me, we've got to get more Canadians down here. We've got to get more Canadians down here. There's only going to be around a hundred Canadians who are coming down. I don't have to tell anybody else to say the Canadian dollar right now and and what that means for the people at the

travel to to our latest on here the mexican team at and their fans as much as and it's just a part of the yesterday they walk with that you want to have the ball they want the crowd kind of uproar with all those all a delay delay but canada's not paid by this stuff they're not paid by noise and sound. They want to assert themselves and I can guarantee you this, you're gonna see a lot of physicality of the Canadians. They're gonna want to go at the

Mexicans right from the kickoff. Yeah it's gonna be a great one tonight. Canada, Mexico, out in LA. Enjoy it tonight, Shinetti. We'll do it again soon. Thank you for this. Cheers boys. There he is, Matthew Shinetti. I Heart Radio is taking you backstage with Kane Brown in Quebec City. Y'all get ready. Girl, let's go put some miles on the line. Meet him, interview him, an I Heart Radio experience you'll never forget. Turn up the night like that radio. With flights, hotel, and $500 included.

Be like that. How we feeling tonight? For your best chance to win, enter daily at iheartradio.ca. Thank y'all so much. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hotel and $500 included. What do we feel in the night? For your best chance to win, enter daily at iHeartRadio.ca. Thank y'all so much, yeah. Kane Brown's new album, The High Road, is available now.