Copa America 2024: Can Jesse Marsch Make Canada Competitive This Summer?

Jesse Marsch continues to divide opinion. The 50-year Wisconsin-born manager carved out his reputation managing Red Bulls-owned clubs before making the transition to the Premier League to take over at Leeds United.

Under his tutelage, the West Yorkshire side struggled to develop an identity, and across his 37-match tenure, Marsch managed to amass just 1.16 points per game.

Although his team found the net on 52 occasions, they also conceded 60 times and failed to win any of their final seven top-flight matches with Marsch in the dugout.

Nevertheless, the former USMNT candidate was offered jobs by both Southampton and Leicester City, although his reluctance to jump straight back into work meant that he ended up regrettably rejecting the chance to remain in the UK.

Marsch opted to take some time out of the game save for the occasional television appearance, and having been appointed as the new boss of the Canadian national team, he’ll be aiming to restore his reputation at this summer’s Copa America.

Having taken over Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds, he now replaces outgoing boss Mauro Biello, who had been in temporary charge of the Maple Leafs following John Herdman’s departure in 2023.

His first assignment this summer will take place in his homeland with the United States hosting the 2024 Copa America, which gets underway on June 20th. Canada will be involved in the opening fixture at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where they have the daunting task of taking on World Champions Argentina.

Argentina were victorious in Qatar and head into this summer’s tournament as the clear favourites. They have been installed ahead of Brazil in the outright betting market and despite only finishing third at the 2019 edition of this event, Lionel Scaloni’s squad is simply stacked with talent.

Although Lionel Messi will command the majority of the headlines, they also possess the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul.

It’s easy to see why La Albiceleste are fancied by the bookmakers this summer and they will be expected to ease past Jesse Marsch’s men in the opener.

It looks set to be a vintage summer for football fans with the Copa America running alongside Euro 2024 and with many gambling sites offering generous betting promotions, there will be plenty of punters who will be backing Scaloni’s men to finish ahead of their old foes Brazil.

In contrast, Canada, who qualified for the 2022 World Cup and emerged with plenty of credit despite finishing bottom of Group F, will make their debut at the Copa America this summer and are priced up anywhere between 80/1 and 100/1 by the majority of online betting operators.

Marsch will be hoping that his side can upset the odds in Group A and with an underperforming Chile and an unpredictable Peru making up the remainder of the section, the Maple Leafs will be quietly hoping to sneak through to the knock-out stage.

Tactical versatility was key to their success during their extraordinary qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup with John Herdman tending to alternate between a 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1, depending on the calibre of opposition. Marsch also favoured the 4-2-3-1 during his time at Elland Road with the three players behind the striker tending to stay quite narrow allowing the full backs to push up and provide additional attacking support.

Alphonso Davies is already firmly established and is the Canadian’s standout operator. Celtic’s Alistair Johnson is a classy defender whereas Derek Cornelius should be relatively fresh with the Swedish Allsvenskan having only recently got underway.

There is plenty of experience in midfield, with Aberdeen’s Junior Hoillett having racked up 62 appearances for his country, whereas Jonathon Osorio brings years of know-how to the squad.

FC Porto’s Stephen Eustáquio is described as a pass-master and will keep things simple and calm in the centre of the park.

Watford’s Ismael Kone provides some much-needed unpredictability and is capable of doing something a little different.

Jonathan David continues to impress for Lille and will once again be linked with better clubs once the transfer window opens.

Theo Bair has enjoyed a very good season with Motherwell and will look to take that form into the summer, whereas Mallorca’s Cyle Larin also has plenty of experience.

If Jesse Marsch is determined to restore his reputation, then this is an extremely intriguing place to start. Canada have been drawn alongside the favourites. and they are not really expected to progress.

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However, if the American coach can get the best out of this bunch of players and guide them to the knock-out stages, he may finally be able to put his forgettable spell in West Yorkshire firmly behind him.