A little over two weeks ago, Canada made their Copa America debut as underdogs against a highly touted Argentina squad.
To the surprise of very few, they could not get on the board in the opening match, falling to the reigning World Cup champions by a 2-0 score.
With that said, Canada has since gone on an epic run, beating the likes of Peru and Venezuela to become the only country ranked outside the top 14 in the world to make it to the semis.
But to keep the Copa America magic going, they’ll try again to get through Lionel Messi and the mighty Albiceleste on Tuesday night.
Speaking with media on Monday, Canadian Men’s National Team head coach Jesse Marsch disagreed with the notion that his squad has evolved into something different over the past month.
“We’ve invested in making sure, tactically, we’ve been clear, that the relationships on the pitch are clear… I don’t think it’s a completely different team,” Marsch said. “We feel more confident in the roles, and tactically, how we’re playing.”
However, when it comes to playing Argentina and their star captain, the game plan is being changed.
“Argentina is the best team in the world. And you can show how aggressive they are, how sharp they are, how good Messi is. You can show a lot of the different qualities but until you’re in the middle of it you don’t understand exactly what that is,” the coach noted.
According to Marsch, limiting the 37-year-old’s offensive opportunities is crucial to pulling off an upset.
“We didn’t do well enough with Messi last match. And he was able to run free at our goalkeeper too much. We won’t man-mark him, [but] certainly, he’s an emphasis of how we will defend. And our ability to keep track of that will be really important,” he said. “We have certain things that we’ll try to do to try to make it difficult for him but we know that limiting his space is the number one thing.”
Still, despite the circumstances, sharing the pitch with a legend like Messi remains a privilege.
“We all know he’s the greatest player to play the game… It’s always, I think, a privilege to play against a player like him, and our players will be up for it. They’ll be excited and the challenge is big.”
As Canada, ranked 48th in FIFA’s world rankings, continues to surprise fans and critics, Marsch is adamant about not letting the pressure get to his player’s heads.
“I think this has been a big development for us. And the fact that we’ve kind of stayed pretty calm and just kind of gone through it step by step says a lot about the character of the team,” he added. “Given where we started five weeks ago to where we are now, we’re a much better team.”
The Copa America semifinal match between Canada and Argentina gets underway this evening. Kickoff is set for 8 pm ET/6 pm MT/5 pm PT from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.