Newark, New Jersey—Even seven years after leaving the New York Red Bulls, Jesse Marsch can’t seem to get himself away from the team’s training facility in Whippany, New Jersey.
This week, he’s back as head coach of the Canadian men’s national team, taking the next steps towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a friendly against No. 13-ranked Colombia on Tuesday night.
His jacket drips as he addresses reporters after coming inside from a training session amid a fall storm on Canadian Thanksgiving Monday.
Yet, if there’s anything he’s thankful for, it’s the opportunity to lead the already-qualified hosts through a dutifully planned World Cup preparation schedule.
“World Cup qualification builds character, but we’ve been able to do that internally and really focus on our process, our style of play, and making sure we understand what those are like,” he said, with Canada facing friendlies in place of enduring the rigors of Concacaf World Cup qualifying.
“We’ve been able to face African nations, some European nations and now a South American [nation]... from an understanding of what those games, from a football perspective, will require, we will have a real good sense of that once we get to the World Cup.”
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Colombia Matchup Looms Large
Taking on Colombia at Sports Illustrated Stadium, just 10 miles away from MetLife Stadium, which will host the 2026 World Cup final, Canada looks to win against their highest-ranked opponent ever. They aim to outdo Mexico, who fell 4–0 to Los Cafeteros on Saturday.
Canada is also looking to rebound from a 1–0 loss to No. 25-ranked Australia, marking their fifth loss within 90 minutes in 28 games since Marsch assumed the role in 2024. Other losses have come against top-20 teams, Argentina twice, the Netherlands and Mexico.
“Along the way, we’ve kind of created this like a checklist in every international window,” said Marsch. “Playing a team as good as Columbia with the type of talent they have and the type of experience they have is a big opportunity for us to prove to ourselves that we are continuing to move in the right direction, so we are taking it as that.”
Battle for Spots Continues
While the team takes a methodical approach to scheduling opponents and planning its identity and outlook, the battles for spots on the roster and in the lineup are more competitive than ever.
For Toronto FC veteran Jonathan Osorio, who missed out on the squad that defeated Romania and Wales in September, it’s never been more evident—especially as he prepared to take on Colombia, his nation of heritage and the one he rooted for growing up.
Meanwhile, Marsch highlighted that Canada has called up 24 players to the last two camps, and that the expectation is that the 2026 World Cup rosters will feature 26 players, as they did for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
“We’re deep everywhere,” Osorio added. “For me now, every camp, every training session, every game, is important to show that I can contribute to this team, and the same goes for everybody else.”
Fighting for Respect
It’s about more than just the result as well. For Canada, it’s about respect, as snide comments towards the No. 26-ranked national team are still commonplace at the club level and from opposition coaches who lose to Marsch’s men.
A strong performance against Colombia would no doubt help solidify the Canadians’ reputation among the rest of the world, especially considering a previous draw with France in 2024, and wins against UEFA’s Ukraine, Romania and Wales in 2025
“After we beat Romania, [manager Mircea Lucescu] went into the media and said, ‘Most of [their players] aren’t Canadian,’” and it was his way of making an excuse as to why they lost so poorly,” Marsch said ahead of the October window.
“After we beat Wales, the coach went into the media and made up some ridiculous nonsense that we were celebrating because he was trying to take away from the fact that they lost to Canada.”
The boys meet TRIONDA 🍁🦅⭐️
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) October 13, 2025
Les gars rencontrent TRIONDA 🍁🦅⭐️#CANMNT pic.twitter.com/gnmimFR3tu
Following the match against Colombia, Canada will have around seven to nine remaining games before officially kicking off the 2026 World Cup in Toronto on June 12, 2026. They hope to be in the form of their life, healthy, and as well-prepped as possible.
“The point is that this is a different Canada, right?” Marsch concluded. “This is a talented Canada. This is a team that doesn’t fear anyone right now. We still have to maintain, internally, real hunger and a drive to continue to improve and be our best, because the minute that we start to feel like we’re doing well and things are going well, that’s when you can slip up.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Don’t Fear Anyone’—Jesse Marsch Bullish Ahead of Canada’s Toughest Test Yet.
