Canada manager Jesse Marsch gives a speech to his team after a win in the World Cup's round of 32. Credit: Fox Credit: Fox
By Matt Clapp on

The first country to advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s round of 16 has never done so before. Canada took down South Africa 1-0 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

Stephen Eustáquio scored the match’s only goal in second-half stoppage time.

After the win, Canada manager Jesse Marsch gave a speech to his team on the field that Fox showed and provided audio of on the broadcast.

“Guys, think about the two years we’ve been together,” Marsch said to the Canada players. “Think about all we’ve talked about, sticking to the plan, sticking to who we want to be, playing aggressive, accessing your qualities. You guys showing your character. You guys are Canadian heroes. Canadian heroes. Canadian heroes for the future children of this country. You play this sport. This sport has a big future because of you guys. You should be so proud of who you are. You should be so proud of this game. You never lost belief. You went after it. Point after point, moment after moment. You are Canadian heroes.”

During Marsch’s postgame press conference, he was asked about the speech, and he made it quite clear that he doesn’t care if anyone thinks his tactics are “performative.”

“Jesse, the cameras and the microphones caught you talking to the team after the game and saying, ‘You’re Canadian heroes,'” Paul Tenorio of The Athletic said to Marsch. “What did that moment mean to you to kind of communicate that in that moment, and the fact that resonated now beyond your group, but out to that world?”

“Yeah, people like to say that it’s performative to meet on the pitch, and frankly, I don’t give a sh*t what people have to say,” Marsch, an American who has played for the United States men’s national team, explained. “All I care about is our own team and what we do together. And in these moments, it’s hard, because after the game, everybody gets pulled in a million directions by media, and you don’t really have a chance to be with your team unless you take that moment right there.”

“So, at different times, we’ve shared messages with each other,” Marsch continued. “I always try to get the leaders to speak, because, again, they’re Canadian. This is their national team. But I wanted to be able to voice to them how important a moment this will prove to be for the sport in the country, for the national team program. It’s a shame we couldn’t do it in Vancouver in front of our fans. But nonetheless, I think you saw the character of the team, the quality of the team, the mentality of the team, the togetherness of the team. It’s a pleasure to be their coach. And the responsibility I feel to them specifically is what motivates me every day to try to prepare and create a platform for them to be their greatest. And I think they did that today.”

Canada will face the winner of Monday night’s Netherlands-Morocco match on Saturday, July 4, in the World Cup’s round of 16.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.

He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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