Canada coach Jesse Marsch insisted that his side were “the better team” in their 3-0 World Cup defeat to Morocco on Saturday, saying “I’d rather be us than them.”
Midfielder Azzedine Ounahi scored twice and substitute Soufiane Rahimi added a late third in the round-of-16 game in Houston, as Morocco progressed to the quarterfinals.
Canada dominated the first half, with chances for Jonathan David and Tani Oluwaseyi, before Ounahi gave Morocco the lead in the 50th minute.
“What a privilege our fans have had, to root a team on like this,” Marsch said, speaking pitchside afterwards. “[A team] that goes after the game, that doesn’t play defensive, that shows that they can be better.
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“Of course we have to be in these situations more and more, and then we have to find ways to succeed and we have build from that. I’d rather be us than them, as good as Morocco is, I’d rather be us.
“I’m really proud of our guys, we went after the game, they’re hurting right now, but my goodness, right now I couldn’t be prouder.”
Host nation Canada have delivered their best ever performance at a World Cup by reaching the round of 16, having gone out at the group stage in both their previous appearances in 1986 and 2022.
“It’s about in the biggest games, in the biggest moments, how much can we be ourselves, how much can we show belief, how much can we test the opponent,” Marsch said. “We did that, across the pitch.
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“We had 11 incredible performances in the first half. We were unlucky not to get the lead, we should have had the lead, and then it’s the fine details. They [Morocco] have quality, players that play at a big level. But in terms of how we played, what an incredible performance.”
Speaking later in his post-match news conference, Marsch said Morocco “were bending a little bit, but they didn’t break.”
“On another day, maybe we get the lead and maybe we get the win,” he said.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi questioned Marsch’s claim that Canada were the better side.
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“In terms of intensity, they [Canada] were good,” he said. “Were they better? It’s hard to say. It takes some nerve to say that, when you lose 3-0. We were better than them in the second half.”
Marsch said that Canada star Alphonso Davies — who played for 15 minutes in the round of 32 — was unable to feature against Morocco, after an injury worry this week.
“He had a hamstring injury that he was recovering from,” Marsch said. “He was on a very linear path until two days ago, and then he felt a little something. It turned out that it wasn’t anything significant, but he didn’t feel right and we didn’t want to stress it.”
