Jesse Marsch, Canada want to challenge USMNT, Mexico for CONCACAF supremacy

Steven GoffMon, October 5, 2026 at 10:15 PM UTC

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Jesse Marsch, the Wisconsin-born coach who took Canada to the Round of 16 this summer, wants his program recognized alongside the U.S. and Mexico.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. and Canada will meet in a friendly here Tuesday, and while the road-weary Americans will seek to continue their fine run of form, the Canadians — and their outspoken American coach — will resume their quest to change the perception in the CONCACAF region.

“Institutionally, CONCACAF still looks at this as a region that's about Mexico, or U.S. and Mexico, probably in that order right now,” said Wisconsin-born, Princeton-educated Jesse Marsch, who guided Canada to the World Cup’s Round of 16 this summer. “We need to continue to establish ourselves and show we are also part of this mix and we are also another dominant program in this region.”

Lest we forget the Canadians finished atop 2022 World Cup qualifying and, two years later, when the U.S. and Mexico failed to advance out of Copa América’s group stage, they reached the semifinals.

“We want to be the beacon of the region,” Marsch said Monday, “and we believe we can be.”

In a rivalry once lopsided in the USA’s favor, Canada has won the past two encounters and is 3-2-2 over the past seven meetings.

“A lot of people in the U.S. talk about Mexico being their biggest rivalry,” goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair said, “but we know we feel like we're in that conversation, as well.”

All three CONCACAF powers bowed out of the World Cup in the Round of 16, but while No. 10 Mexico and the No. 16 U.S. have held steady in the top 20 of FIFA’s rankings, Canada sits at No. 27 — one off its highest ranking (26), set last year.

“For so long, [the U.S.] and Mexico have always been the big dogs in this region,” Canadian forward Tani Oluwaseyi said, “and now we feel like we can impose ourselves and take that top crown.”

Because Tuesday’s match is largely inconsequential — and, with up to 11 subs per team, could become disjointed — Canada won’t be able to declare anything substantial. But that doesn’t mean the game won’t carry weight with the players on both sides, and in particular Marsch, who in 2023 spoke bitterly about the way he was treated when he pursued the U.S. job. (Gregg Berhalter was rehired, instead.)

Does he still hold a grudge?

“There's definitely not a grudge,” he said. “People want to take it that way, which is fine. I don't mind. I don't really care what people think too much, right? You learn in this job that everyone's going to try to pretend like they know you, but obviously I'm also making polarized statements at times.”

At times, indeed.

Marsch, who has been on the job for 2½ years, was asked Monday whether he feels more American or Canadian.

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“There's a lot of similarities between being from Wisconsin and being Canadian,” he said. “And even when I was in university, I gravitated toward a lot of the Canadians that were there, because we had similar ways of living life and thoughts about what life meant. Look: I'm American but I'm really honored and really proud to be the Canadian coach. And I'm not afraid to say things that sometimes need to be said, or that I feel should be said, whether people agree with them or not.”

He has spoken out on political topics, such as President Trump calling Canada the 51st state. On Monday, he waded back into the political arena by saying, “Here we are now, the big talk in America is Lake Ontario, Lake America. This kind of crap.”

In a story published by the Guardian on Sunday, Marsch addressed Trump’s role in influencing FIFA to allow U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play in the World Cup’s round of 16, despite a red card in the previous match.

“We, as Americans, have been inundated with propaganda since we were young. We’re the No. 1 country in the world, we deserve everything, we dominate everything, No. 1 in every aspect of life,” he said. “This is what we’ve been told. So, when things happen and we don’t feel like we’re in control of it … we feel like we deserve to be treated differently because we’re Americans. That is one of the things that infuriates the rest of the world about Americans. And Americans don’t know that if they don’t ever leave the country.

“So what I feel when the Balogun ruling happens is, that would never happen in any other country in the world, and this is why everyone around the world hates America.”

Marsch says what truly fuels him and his team this week is the opportunity to beat the U.S., for which he says he has enormous respect. In particular, he said he admires Mauricio Pochettino integrating more than a dozen uncapped players, including eight teenagers, into this first post-World Cup camp.

The rivalry with the U.S. is alive and well “because the two teams are good,” Marsch said, casting aside outside issues.

Pochettino said he admires Marsch.

“I am from Argentina. I love to see that passion,” he said. “I celebrate we have coaches like Jesse [showing] pure emotion. I like this. I was [once] similar. Now, I am more mature.”

The U.S. has been very good in this window, scoring 11 goals in victories over Peru, Chile and Mexico. It is seeking its first four-game winning streak in official FIFA windows since claiming the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League with two victories, followed by wins in a friendly and six Gold Cup matches.

The last time the Americans won four in a row in a stretch that included non-CONCACAF opponents was May 2016, when they defeated Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Bolivia.

While Canada is playing its third match in 11 days, the U.S. is playing its fourth — a schedule that has taken a toll.

Pochettino said his team is “not [in] the best condition” to play for the fourth time and, in determining the lineup and minutes, he feels a responsibility to the clubs in not overextending the players.

The travel has also impacted the group, Pochettino said. The U.S. trained in the Atlanta area, played in Orlando, returned to Greater Atlanta for two days, played in St. Louis, moved on to Phoenix and, after a two-hour flight delay, arrived in Minnesota on Sunday.

“For the future, we will do some changes,” Pochettino said of extended international windows.

“It's not easy, but what I can tell you is that the behavior of the players, the energy of the players, the mentality, the commitment are amazing,” he added. “That is why I want to congratulate the players, the staff, in the way we built that journey together — amazing things [and] hope to finish tomorrow in a very good way.”

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Source: “AOL Sports”