Canada coach Jesse Marsh hopes his team’s success at the Copa America will encourage dual-citizen players to reconsider playing for other countries.
Marsh, who replaced John Herdman in May, helped Canada achieve a stunning performance in the Copa America, his first as a coach.
Canada defeated Venezuela on penalties in the quarterfinals before losing 0-2 to eventual champions Argentina and Lionel Messi in the semifinals. Canada faced Uruguay in the consolation final, but lost 3-4 on penalties after Luis Suarez equalized in added time.
“Some players might have thought they would have a better chance of going to another country because they can compete more on the international stage,” Marsch said Tuesday at CF Montreal’s training facility, Centre Nutrilait. “I hope that now that we have shown that we can compete, the recruitment process will be a little bit easier and cleaner.
“(We) can say, ‘Come to Canada and make waves at the 2026 World Cup.'”
WATCH | Marsch joins CBC Sports to look back on their Copa America run:
CBC Sports’ Andy Petrillo joins head coach Jesse Marsh as he takes charge of the Canadian Men’s National Team and heads to its first international tournament.
Canada automatically qualifies for the next World Cup as co-hosts with the United States and Mexico. Marsch said he has identified “up to 10” dual nationals to evaluate to build the strongest possible roster for 2026.
The 50-year-old American did not name any of the players, but the list is likely to include Premier League side AFC Bournemouth striker Daniel Jevidson, England Burnley winger Luca Coleoso and Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew fullback Mohamed Farsi.
There is also the case of Vancouver Whitecaps captain Ryan Gold. The 28-year-old is a Scottish footballer who has not been capped by the national team. He has until 2025 to apply for Canadian citizenship and could eventually be called up to the Canadian team.
Ignore previous dual citizenship
Canada hasn’t always been successful with dual nationals. Owen Hargreaves, a Calgary native who won the Champions League with European giants Bayern Munich and Manchester United, made a name for himself playing for England after being snubbed by Canada’s U-17 team in the early 2000s.
Toronto-born Jonathan De Guzman, the younger brother of former Canada captain Julian De Guzman, played in the Netherlands after becoming a Dutch citizen during his playing career, while Calgary-born defender Fikayo Tomori, currently with Italian side AC Milan, has decided to play in England.
Canada has done a better job of attracting dual nationals in recent years, thanks to its 2022 World Cup run. Marsch’s team is loaded with dual nationals, including key Canadian players Alphonso Davies (Liberia), Jonathan David (USA) and Stephen Eustaquio (Portugal).
WATCH | Canada Surpasses Marsh’s Copa America Expectations:
The Canadian men’s national soccer team lost to Uruguay on penalties in the Copa America third-place playoff on Saturday. Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Canada finished in a respectable fourth place in their tournament debut, a result that coach Jesse Marsh is very proud of.
Born to a Montreal father, British-born Luc de Fougerol made his debut for Canada at age 18 against Uruguay.
Marsh said he will be reaching out to Kevin Blue, the secretary-general and CEO of the Canadian Soccer Association, and other top Canadian players to help recruit more players.
“Kevin Blue is here today, and he’s an incredible recruiter. I’ve learned from the way he brought me here,” Marsh said. “We’ll hear from him and his experience, and I’ll travel and communicate, and I’ll ask some of the team leaders to be involved in the recruiting process as well.
“We’re identifying the right type of player, the dual citizen, and then having the type of conversations that fit what we’re doing going forward.”
’26 to 26′
Marsch said he was trying to recruit players, but when the Copa started he put up a sign that said “26 for 26”, meaning he would sign 26 players for the 2026 World Cup, to show that every player on his roster could potentially return.
“Every player in that room at that time was in pole position,” he said. “Their job was to develop themselves and push themselves and adapt and understand what my criteria were for the team to move forward, and their job was to make sure their position didn’t slip.
Marsh is keen to unearth more domestic talent after seeing the performances of little-known 24-year-old Moise Bombito, who has cemented his place as a centre-back against some of the world’s best.
He said his “main job” was to make the national team better, but “my passion project is to develop the sport in this country and build better infrastructure at youth level to develop players faster and better.”
“It’s unacceptable that a player like Moise Bombito is not discovered until he’s 23,” he said. “I’ve coached some of the best centre-backs in the world and what I’ve said to him is I’ve coached (Dayot) Upamecano, (Ibrahima) Konate, (Josko) Gvardiol and his talent level is in that category.
“As a Canadian soccer community, we need to figure out how to create a better infrastructure. We need to raise the bar for finding and developing players at 22, 23, 24 years old, and at 16, 17, 18, 19 years old.”
