Canadian coach Jesse Marsch felt like his team needs to settle into matches better after the 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup.
Jovo Lukic opened the scoring for the Bosnians in the first half from a corner, before Cyle Larin tied things up towards the end of the match.
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“Look, I knew (Larin) wasn’t happy about not starting,“March said.”We had a brief conversation about that, but I said to him’ look you had a great year at Southampton whether you have started or come off the bench.‘”
Canada carried much of the game, especially after going behind as claimed their first-ever result at a FIFA World Cup.
“For me, there are some set piece things we can do better, for sure, but for me, it is the mentality and the bravery,” the American continued. “We want to make sure the team is equipped from the start for all of these matches to understand the plan, the set piece plan, and the opponent, and what their plan might be, but in the end, to really go after the game, and represent what we wanted to be.
“We did that in the second half, and not in the first half, and that was the difference for us on the day.
“I’m really just so focused in trying to make sure that our players are equipped with everything they need to be the best they can be.“
Marsch also stressed the importance of playing these matches in the home world cup. “Look, we’re trying to pave the way for the future, but also capture the now,” he said. He also made it clear that they expect another ‘full stadium’ in Canada’s next game against Qatar next Thursday.
The Canadian coach was also complimentary towards Bosnia and what they brought today.
“(Bosnia) were pretty much exactly what we thought they would be, and we needed to represent ourselves better, and we did that better in the second half. And we knew that our fitness and our youth and our speed had the potential to wear them down.
“I think it could have gone either way. They had chances to make it maybe 2-0. We had chances also to find the win. In the end, I think a draw is a fair result.”
Both sides will play their second games next Thursday, with Canada going to Vancouver to take on Qatar, while Bosnia will be in Los Angeles to face Switzerland.
