Canada had a free hit at Copa America – it has lessons to learn for the 2026 World Cup

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey – Jesse Marsch pulled his team together in the moments after a crushing 2-0 loss to world champions Argentina in the Copa America semifinal and delivered a message he wanted them to remember.

Canada’s new head coach told his exhausted team that while he knew they were disappointed, he was proud of them and their performances.

“We’ve had a wonderful six weeks together and it’s gone way better than any of us could have scripted; so, there’s still a lot of work to do, but we’ve built a really good foundation and I’m really optimistic about what the future can look like,” Marsch said.

Marsch has spoken repeatedly throughout Canada’s surprising and inspiring run to Copa America’s final four about how focused he is on the future. He’s been clear that he hopes what has happened in the U.S. this summer is a sign of things to come.

The 2026 World Cup is on home soil (co-hosted with the United States and Canada) and getting out of the group stage is the top priority for Marsch and Canada. Their run at the Copa America bodes well —now, Marsch and Canada have to learn and use the experiences they gained.

When Marsch took over two months ago, he knew who his best 15 or so players were. But anyone remotely familiar with this squad would have known, too. It was the other 11 players, those who provide the depth that separates emerging teams from stable, good ones, that Marsch was unclear about. These five games at Copa America have provided answers.

A result still felt within reach early in the second half at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last night, even at two goals down, when Marsch dipped into his bag of tricks to make the kind of substitutions rarely made for Canada.

On 55 minutes, Ali Ahmed, a 23-year-old who had previously played nearly all of his minutes for his country as part of the secondary squad involved in the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer, came on for stalwart defender Richie Laryea. After another 10 minutes, Jonathan David, still Canada’s most potent finisher, was replaced by Tani Oluwaseyi, he of just six MLS starts. Just past the hour mark, Stephen Eustaquio, Canada’s longtime rock in the middle of the park, gave way to Mathieu Choiniere, who had just 58 minutes of senior international experience before this game.

These changes were less part of a tactical blueprint and more symbolic: Canada’s best players were not performing when they needed to.

“Obviously, if (David) and (Eustaquio) are at their best, they’re always a big help to the team,” Marsch said later.

David is Canada’s most potent finisher but needs help (Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

That is a takeaway from this Copa America that will resonate into the preparations for 2026.

The best-case scenario for that World Cup would be: if Canada’s best players were playing to their potential within Marsch’s plan, the gulf in quality between the likes of Argentina and his best players wouldn’t be that evident. Yet when Argentina made substitutions or had to rely on players lower down their line-up, they didn’t miss a beat.

There were times late in Tuesday’s game when Canada’s depth players didn’t merely miss a beat, they missed the entire song. Marsch needs to challenge his squad’s second tier to close the gap to their counterparts around the world or establish a new core of such players he can rely upon to perform beside his stars.

“We need to develop more players that can contribute, so that we can also rotate in a tournament; because, eventually, the physicality and the fatigue can catch up with you — that was a big part of what happened today,” Marsch said.

Marsch gave his bench players critical minutes against Argentina. And he’s likely going to lean heavily on that depth in Canada’s third-place game, against Colombia or Uruguay, on Saturday (early Sunday, UK time), too. “I’m trying to really build and develop every single player in this pool so that we can have a real 26-man squad in 2026,” he said.

There were glimpses to provide hope for Marsch. Ahmed showed spark with the ball. Oluwaseyi, 24, was dangerous and suggests he should be trusted further. Choiniere, 25, didn’t back down from Lionel Messi. If Canada’s squad players come out of Copa America feeling buoyed by their experience, the tournament will have been even more of a success. “(Marsch) gave me an opportunity based on a small pool of games,” Oluwaseyi said. “Every guy who he’s given an opportunity to has stepped up. And we’ll continue to see that as we build up into the World Cup.”

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Canada’s coaching staff will have to look beyond this player pool. Scouring the world for dual nationals, which has been less of a priority within Canada Soccer since the previous World Cup two years ago, has to become a priority.

If Canada Soccer doesn’t come away from Copa America without a very clear idea of what the gap between its team and the world’s best actually looks like, the tournament shouldn’t be considered much of a success. “I felt that when we went 1-0 down, that a few too many guys were trying individual plays, I call it ‘freestyling’, instead of sticking to the plan,” Marsch said. “We’ve got to learn from that.”

No one should be suggesting Canada comes out of Copa America with massive changes to its starting line-up and defensively the team were resolute, compact and decisive.

Choiniere, the CF Montreal midfielder, came on in the semifinal for valuable experience (Eduardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images)

David had a strong tournament overall, scoring one of their two goals, but that number is illuminating. Canada, and David, need to improve their finishing. Tallying 6.46 expected goals (xG), a metric used to measure the likelihood of a shot becoming a goal, over five games and actually scoring twice are numbers that need to improve. Significantly.

“It’s frustrating because you can tell we’re getting closer now,” defender Alistair Johnston said. “We had chances again and we’re just missing just that little bit of composure, that little bit of world-class that these teams have in abundance. If you don’t score your half-chances when you get them when you’re on top for a little bit, they’re going to make you pay. You need to be perfect against these teams.”

Marsch, quite literally, needs his best players to be his best players at the 2026 World Cup. And to achieve that, Canada needs to look back on Copa America understanding there’s more to getting results than what happens on the scoresheet.

Chilean referee Piero Maza frustrated Canada’s players and Marsch last night, but what they played through in the semifinal is hardly any different to the games earlier in the tournament. More experienced teams know how to manage the officiating.

These are the realities of competing at international level that Canada needs to understand. You would hope that, as Canada’s group board their flight from New Jersey down to Charlotte for that third-place game, there’s a realization the calls from the officials they hope to get — especially when they play against the world’s better sides in 2026 — might not come.

But, at least when looking at the tournament from 30,000 feet, things did go Canada’s way at Copa America.

The team went the furthest of any of the six CONCACAF guest nations. They succumbed to a team that could be considered one of the best, well, ever — Argentina is the reigning Copa and World Cup champion and has lost just twice in 61 games over the past five years. They bought into a revamped style of play under Marsch and looked energized and often effective. Canada has a purpose it didn’t have in the aftermath of that 2022 World Cup.

And their tournament isn’t even over. A third-place match represents a chance to end the summer on a high note.

But what won’t end, regardless of the result in Charlotte, is the lessons to take from the past few weeks.

This Copa America will be Canada’s last proper preparation for the 2026 World Cup. How Canada performs on home soil, in arguably the biggest sporting event in the country’s history, could end up revealing just how important this Copa America was.

(Top photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)