'Proud' Marsch says Canada better side in World Cup exit

Coach Jesse Marsch said his Canada side had been the better team and hopes this is just the start after the co-hosts bowed out of the World Cup in the last 16 to Morocco on Saturday.

Canada were playing in the biggest match in their footballing history and were on top in the first half in Houston.

But in a niggly game, Morocco scored three times in the second period for a 3-0 win that was not an accurate reflection of the match.

Canada had never won a World Cup game prior to this edition, but as co-hosts with the United States and Mexico they won two matches, and reached the knockout rounds during a historic run.

"Before the tournament, if we would have said we're in the last 16, I think we would have been pretty satisfied," said the American Marsch.

"And by the way, before today, if someone said your team was gonna play like that, I would have said, 'Okay, there's a good chance we're going to win the match'.

"But we totally, totally controlled the first half. And even at the start of the second half we were the aggressor, we were the ones that controlled the match. We were the ones that were more likely to score."

It did not turn out like that, with midfielder Azzedine Ounahi scoring twice before Soufiane Rahimi netted a third for Morocco with the last kick of the game.

Marsch, who oversaw wins over Qatar in the group phase and then South Africa in the last 32, added: "The way we pushed, the way we were in the match, the quality we showed, the overall impact in the match, we were better."

The former Leeds United manager felt that "on another day, maybe we get the lead and maybe we get the win". 

Marsch hopes the breakout tournament will be just the start for Canadian football.

Asked what he said to his heartbroken players, he said: "First of all I told them that I was proud of them, and I challenge them to understand that... we can play like this all the time.

"Against the best teams in the world, we can be better. And then the challenge is can we hold that standard for 90 minutes? 

"Can we make sure that we continue to build the depth of what we're doing with the team? Can we build that into our youth national teams? 

"Can we build a real Canadian DNA into the kind of football we want to play, into the kind of infrastructure we want to have, into the kind of academies and the way we teach the game?

"But in terms of the commitment of the group and making the country proud and making the programme proud, they couldn't have done more."

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© Agence France-Presse