American Jesse Marsch was hired Monday as coach of Canada’s men’s national soccer team and signed to a contract through the 2026 World Cup.
The 50-year-old takes over Canada ahead of the Copa América,
where Canada plays defending champion Argentina in the tournament opener on
June 20. Marsch replaced John Herdman, who left last year to become coach of
Toronto in Major League Soccer. Assistant Mauro Biello had served as interim
coach.
Canada has an automatic World Cup berth as co-host along
with the United States and Mexico. The Canadians reached the World Cup in 2022
for the first time since 1986 and went 0-3, losing to Belgium, Croatia and
Morocco.
The Canada Soccer Association said owners of Canada’s three
MLS teams — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — had made financial contributions
that enabled Marsch’s hiring.
After playing for Princeton and then D.C., Chicago and
Chivas USA in MLS, Marsch became a U.S. national team assistant under Bob
Bradley in 2010-11, then became the first head coach of MLS’s Montreal Impact
(2011-12).
He coached the New York Red Bulls (2015-18), Red Bull
Salzburg (2019-21), RB Leipzig (2021) and Leeds (2022-23). AP