TORONTO — Head coach Jesse Marsch credited Canada‘s home crowd in Toronto with creating a “hostile environment” that pushed his side to their first ever World Cup point against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A late equaliser from substitute Cyle Larin cancelled out Jovo Lukic’s early opener for Bosnia as Canada opened their campaign as co-hosts with a draw.
The atmosphere was electric from start to finish in the Toronto stadium, with over 43,000 fans making up a partisan home crowd on Friday.
“The week in Toronto has been amazing. The fans have been outstanding,” Marsch said in his postmatch news conference.
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“The place erupted when we scored the goal. It is the first ever [World Cup] point in Canada’s history so we should be happy and enjoy that. We are trying to pave the way for the future but also capture the now.”
Marsch also highlighted the role of the fans to help his Canada side come from behind to earn a late point.
“As the crowd started to feel that the team was growing into the game, specifically in the second half, you could feel them cheering louder and being more participatory and pushing the group. That’s what we need,” he said.
“We need the home crowd to push the team, to put pressure on referees, to create a hostile environment. We will need that in Vancouver too. A really great crowd but a team that shows belief in our group and that was very important for us.”
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Canada face Qatar on Thursday in Vancouver and a win there would be a huge step towards a historic qualification for the round of 32.
“The fans in Vancouver, I know them. It is a football city. They love their national team. So I expect a full stadium, again, red jerseys. How awesome was it again to look around today and see all these red jerseys and a sea of red in the stadium,” he said.
“And to do the same, to push the team, from the start of the match make them feel loved and confident. It was a big factor on why we were able to get a point today.
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American born Marsch, who sang the Canadian national anthem before the game, said he wasn’t happy with how his team started as they went behind after 20 minutes.
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“I feel I didn’t do enough to get them ready for the first half but then the response that we showed in the second half and some of the messages that I gave at half time helped. I just want to make sure that we can give the country a team to be proud of and that the performances reflect that,” he added.
“I get so focused in on what you want your team to be as a coach. But I am just so focused to make sure that our players can be equipped so they can be the best they can be.”
The former Leeds manager added that he felt a draw was a fair result but that the nerves of the occasion got to his team.
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“We talked a lot about the sense of occasion. We were aware of it. A home World Cup is a different occasion. It is a different feel,” he said.
“The stadium even felt different. It is bigger now so it doesn’t feel the same than the Toronto Stadium from before. I do think that we will learn from this. If you look at World Cup historically, there are different scenarios were it starts a bit tense in the beginning stages or matches and then the games come more to life and you see two versions of teams.
“For us, it will be really important that we use this experience to be better and stronger and more prepared for what exactly we want the game to look like.”
