Canada's shortcomings laid bare in loss to USMNT

By Ben Steiner

Canada‘s rise to relevance in global soccer has happened at breakneck pace.

In a decade, the team went from a relative afterthought to qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16, and their FIFA ranking climbed from 122nd in 2017 to as high as 26th. 

Yet, the next step may be the hardest. A 1-0 international friendly loss to the US men’s national team on Tuesday at Minnesota United FC‘s Allianz Field gave them a stark reminder. 

“I told them that it’s not enough to just come into the national team and work really hard and care about each other and give everything to each other,” head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters. “It’s about personality, understanding, savviness and managing matches.

“… We can’t just look like a group of hard workers who don’t put it together enough.”

Game of inches

While USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino downplayed the USA-Canada rivalry ahead of Tuesday — a point Marsch amplified — the contest brought impressive intensity, as shown by the 41 fouls committed. 

With the loss, Canada’s two-game win streak against their southern neighbors ended, and they learned how tight matches can be. One mistake led to Orlando City homegrown striker Justin Ellis scoring the game-winning goal. 

The USMNT soaked up heavy pressure in the second half, but Les Rouges lacked the clinical edge necessary to flip the script.

“You’ve got to give the US credit; they were bending but not breaking,” Marsch said of Canada’s opportunities, which included a fruitless 30 set pieces. “We just weren’t decisive in our movements and aggressive enough to get first contact to finish off some of the plays.

“… We’ve been having this talk for a while, right? And we need to find ways to be more effective in the last third.”

De Fougerolles steps up

As part of the next step, Marsch has a simple task for his team: Become leaders. New Real Salt Lake center back Luc de Fougerolles, 20, embraced that challenge.

The on-loan defender from English Premier League side Fulham FC put together three solid showings during the September/October international window. Even more impressive, de Fougerolles was vocal and involved against the USMNT.

In particular, he stepped up when captain Stephen Eustáquio exited the match at halftime with a suspected collarbone injury. 

Alphonso Davies’ glaring absence from this camp for his honeymoon, combined with Eustáquio’s knock, made the emergence of a new leader all the more needed. 

“Not enough of them do that with their clubs. Too many of them go into their clubs and allow other people to be leaders, and allow other people to be vocal,” said Marsch.

“As much as we talked before about needing to push the overall group and the understanding of what the highest level looks like and the physicality, the ability to now demand more out of themselves and how they play, it’s about also the leadership part, the psychological part, the emotional part, to make sure that we’re developing that.

“I consider [de Fougerolles] an important player, and I need him to act like a leader, an organizer and someone with a big personality. In the second half today, I think we saw more of that”

Nations League next

With the early fall window wrapped, Canada now shift focus to their Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal in just over a month. They’ll take on Guatemala in a two-legged series for a spot in the four-team finals in March. 

While Les Rouges are heavy favorites, they face recent history against Los Chapines, who eliminated Marsch’s men in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals. 

Winning trophies is the next benchmark Canada hope to hit in the near future. A first Nations League trophy is certainly possible, but they will have to ensure their attacking woes are fixed for November’s matches. 

If Canada beat Guatemala, they’ll potentially have a chance to play the USMNT again in the tournament semifinals or final.