Marsch treating Guatemala friendly as crucial test with World Cup looming

Under normal circumstances, an international friendly against Concacaf minnow Guatemala might not be particularly worrisome for coach Jesse Marsch and his FIFA World Cup-bound Canadian men’s team. 

But these aren’t exactly normal circumstances for Marsch. Like every other national team coach who has seen his side qualify for the 2026 World Cup, he finds himself in a major time crunch when it comes to getting the Canadian men’s team ready for this summer’s festivities.  

There are just two FIFA-sanctioned international windows — March 23-31 and June 1-9 — remaining before Canada kicks off its World Cup campaign on June 12 in Toronto against an opponent that has yet to be determined. As a result, time is very precious for Marsch, who doesn’t have many opportunities left to work first-hand with a collection of players who are spread out at professional clubs all over the world. 

That’s why Saturday’s contest against lowly Guatemala at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles is so vitally important for Marsch and his World Cup preparation. It’s a chance for the American coach to evaluate some players who are on the cusp of making the World Cup roster and build some chemistry ahead of this summer’s tournament. 

Having so little time with the players means clarity in messaging from Marsch is an absolute must whenever the team gets together.  

“I would say it challenges my ability to be a good communicator,” Marsch told reporters on Friday. 

He added: “It's about mine and my staff's ability to be clear and to really create the training that we need, to create the video sessions that we need to have, the type of discussions and individual meetings that we need to have to make sure that every player is as clear as possible, so that when they play the match, they're not overthinking.” 

Canada is 27th in the current FIFA world rankings, well ahead of Guatemala (No. 94). The difference in rankings owes a great deal to the options that both coaches have at their disposal. While many members of Marsch’s team play at the highest levels of European club soccer (including Jonathan David of Juventus and Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies), his counterpart, Luis Fernando Tena, is largely limited to a group of players who ply their trade in Guatemala’s very modest domestic league. 

What’s more, Canada has tested itself against some of the best nations in the world since Marsch took over as coach in 2024, including wins over Romania, Wales, Ukraine, the United States and Venezuela, draws vs. France, Colombia and Ecuador, and credible showings in losses against Argentina (twice) and Uruguay. Guatemala, on the other hand, didn’t qualify out of the Concacaf region for the World Cup.

But despite the disparity in quality between Canada and Guatemala, this weekend’s contest comes with a few wrinkles for Marsch to iron out. Because this game doesn’t fall during a FIFA international window, Marsch's squad largely consists of chosen North American-based players who are out of season with their pro clubs. Uncapped fullback Matteo de Brienne, who is currently out of season with Sweden's GAIS, is the only European-based player named to this Canadian squad.  

Many of Canada’s projected World Cup starters, including both Davies and David, are not with the team in Los Angeles. The only virtual locks to make the World Cup roster who are participating in this latest Canadian camp are Toronto FC's Richie Laryea and Jonathan Osorio and Mathieu Choiniere of LAFC.  

Other invitees include defenders Kamal Miller (Portland Timbers) and Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire), midfielder Jayden Nelson (Austin FC) and goalkeeper James Pantemis (Portland). All four are, at the moment, thought to be on the outside looking in, so they’ll be looking to use this game to help bolster their chances of making Marsch's World Cup squad.  

With so many European-based players ruled out, Marsch has been forced to put together a fairly inexperienced side, which includes a trio of youngsters from the Canadian Premier League – Noah Abatneh (Atletico Ottawa), Shola Jimoh (Inter Toronto) and Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers) – who wouldn’t otherwise have received a call-up this month.  

“A lot of these guys might get their first cap, and I remember when I got my first cap, it was one of the best days of my life. And for them to get that opportunity, just to seize it. Just do everything they can to seize it, enjoy the moment, and work hard,” Waterman said. 

Marsch has always looked at the big developmental picture that extends far beyond this summer’s World Cup since being hired.  

Given that the team Marsch has assembled this month only features eight players who’ve ever played a match at the senior level, he’ll have to use this occasion to give debuts to a handful of youngsters against Guatemala, thus expanding the pool of national team players available to him once the World Cup is over. 

“We'll get a blend of the best guys we have available, and some of the established guys and then mix in a few younger, newer players to the national team. I've said it's a developmental game. That's definitely the case, but we're going into this match wanting to win,” Marsch said. 

There’s also the small matter of Canada wanting to atone for its disappointing showing at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Marsh’s side entered the continental competition as one of the favourites and put down a marker with a 6-0 thrashing of Honduras in its opening match in Vancouver. 

But the Canadians were less than impressive in their remaining group stage games vs. Curaçao and El Salvador and bowed out of the competition in embarrassing fashion courtesy of a penalty shootout loss to Guatemala in the quarterfinals. 

“We're excited for (Saturday) to give some new players a chance to put a good performance together, to play against a good opponent that we know will make it very difficult on us. These are all the things that I hope to get out of these kinds of situations, and I expect our team to be ready to deliver,” Marsch stated. 

Earlier this week, Canada Soccer revealed that the men’s side will host Uzbekistan, who also qualified for this year’s World Cup, in a friendly on June 1 in Edmonton. The Canadians will also play a match in Montreal in the June window, and a pair of games in Toronto in March against opponents who have yet to be announced. The expectation is that those other three games also be against nations who have punched their ticket to the World Cup. 

The affair against Uzbekistan, who are coached by former Italian star defender Fabio Cannavaro (a World Cup winner), could offer Marsch a window into what his team can expect when they take on Qatar on June 18 in Vancouver in its second contest of the World Cup group stage. 

"I think their trajectory is very similar to ours," Marsch said when the match was first announced. “So, we think it's a good team. It does now represent a bit of a similar playing style to Qatar. A really good challenge and a really good team, so I think it will be great preparation for us."