(Bordeaux) “Very far. » Here is where Jesse Marsch’s Canada stands between now and the destination dreamed of by the new maple leaf coach, at the dawn of a highly anticipated friendly match against France in Bordeaux.
“But I’m very encouraged by the relationships we’ve already created, the work we’ve done together, the workouts and the response they’ve given me on the things I want to see from this team. »
A few moments before uttering these words, the American sat at the prestigious podium of the French team, inside the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux. He was accompanied by Stephen Eustáquio, the player who will wear the captain’s armband for Sunday’s match. We will come back to this.
We understand Marsch not yet being satisfied with the work accomplished. He has only been in office for a month. Practically, on this sunny Saturday afternoon in the southwest of France, he has only had seven days with his players since the start of his very first camp with the team. And its 4-0 defeat against the Netherlands on Wednesday demonstrated to its selection what separates it from the big teams in the world.
But it is these matches that shape a group, a program. Talk to Eustaquio.
“We hoped to play these matches in the past,” said the Canadian midfielder a few minutes later. And he weighed his words.
“It was difficult to seek this kind of competition. We learned an important lesson against the Dutch. It was very good for us to play at this level. And now, against France, it will be good to face these world-class players, who won the Champions League. It will be quite an order, but we are capable of surprising. It’s football. It’s 11 to 11.”
A few hours earlier, we were at the hotel used as the Canadian team’s base camp to conduct certain interviews, the content of which will appear on these pages over the coming days. We hadn’t planned to chat with Samuel Piette, but since he passed us in the hall, he offered himself an interview.
A side note here: the establishment whose name we will not mention displayed a Canadian flag in the airlock at the entrance, as a welcome for our players. A small touch of friendly hospitality that mainly served to confirm to us that we were in the right place.
Piette, therefore, tells us how limited time is to digest all the information that coaches share with players. Training sessions are limited, those before the match are lighter. The day after a match, the players who played are regenerating, while the others are on the pitch.
Precisely, after the press conference by Marsch and Eustáquio, Canada trained on the pitch at Matmut Atlantique. For the first 15 minutes that we were allowed to see, we actually didn’t force the note.
“We didn’t have much time together,” submits the CF Montreal midfielder. And there are still a lot of changes [with Marsch]. That’s good, but you have to assimilate all that. »
Piette came on in the 79th minute against Oranje, some time after Mathieu Choinière.
“I think I came in well though,” he said, noting the score was 3-0 at that point. The guys who were on the bench said: “It seems that you and Mathieu play together in Montreal, we see this connection”. »
“It’s also what you do in training, how you behave, how much attention you pay in the meeting, if you ask questions, etc. »
It’s all about gradation, and continuous improvement, according to Marsch.
“Here’s what I told the team,” the coach said. If our goal in 2026 is to reach 100% [of our capacities], and we are currently at 50%, we must make sure to advance a little more every day to get closer. Even against these big opponents, when the match can seem insurmountable at times, when it is demanding, we still have to establish the foundation and the bases of what we want for the future. »
Alphonso Davies wore the captain’s armband on Wednesday. We said it: it will be Eustáquio on Sunday. This will not be the first time that the Canadian midfielder will have to assume this leadership role: Mauro Biello named him captain for the play-off match against Trinidad and Tobago in March.
“When I had the discussion with Steph,” says Marsch, “I immediately felt his professionalism, his passion, his ambition, his desire to be the best of himself, and to take Canada Soccer this far. as possible. […] He has clear opinions and determination, and that’s what makes him such a good leader. »
Eustáquio, an experienced player with FC Porto, spoke of “very good feelings” in the first half against the Netherlands. But it was in the second phase that things got complicated. And that’s where his leadership comes in, he says.
“I felt we were less compact,” he says. This is my next lesson. When things go wrong and the match slips through our fingers, I have to lead by example, control and balance things. »
“This is my next step and I am focused on this task. […] When tomorrow’s match takes a complicated turn, you can expect me to try to refocus my teammates and make life difficult for France.”