(Reuters) – Canada's new coach and poor performance heading into the Copa America had many predicting an early exit, but Jesse Marsch's team beat Venezuela on Friday to reach the semi-finals and continue their dream winning streak in the tournament.
Canada's preparations for its first Copa America have been less than ideal, with Marsh taking over in May and leading a team that had won just two of its last five games.
His first game as manager was against the Netherlands on June 6, 15 days before the Netherlands lost 2-0 to Argentina in their opening game of the tournament.
Canada finished last in Group A but advanced to the quarterfinals with consecutive clean sheets against Peru and Chile, before going on a fierce offensive in the quarterfinals to draw 1-1 with Venezuela before winning on penalties.
Asked what he'd learned about the Canadian team in the month since his first game on the sidelines, Marsh told reporters: “Everything I know about them now, I felt then too: their dedication, their desire, their willingness to learn.”
“All of this has led to greater faith and confidence.”
Canada has one of the youngest teams in the Copa America, with an average age of just over 25.
“Les Rouges” made the most of his youthful exuberance in the tournament, using his speed to turn matches into tough, physical battles while looking to catch opponents on the counter.
“They're a very athletic team. They're a very fast team. We've been trying to get them to have the right aggression to get on their heels, take on the big games and believe in the way we're building our team,” Marsh said.
“Their eagerness to learn and their belief in what I'm doing with them is very high. They're athletic, they're strong, they're young and they're capable.”
“We've seen an incredibly fast learning curve, but it's because they're excited to play this way and excited about what we're trying to accomplish together.”
But Canada faces a tough test to reach the final, facing Argentina, who have already beaten them in the tournament, in the semifinals, and Marsh said his team will apply lessons learned from their opening loss.
“We're excited about where development is at and we've earned the right to give it another go and we're going to treat it as such,” Marsh said.
“We're going to be positive and we're going to play aggressively. We're not going to just sit back and play defense. We're going to play the way we've always played and see if it holds up.”
Canada will face Argentina in New Jersey on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Aadhi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
