Jesse Marsch might have been hoping for more from his team against Iceland and Tunisia, but they put up a decent fight in both matches, and gave plenty of fringe players a chance to stake their claim for the World Cup. This team have been hit by so many injuries over the past few months and that will leave a ton of questions for Marsch to answer within his squad composition for the summer tournament. After consecutive draws with Iceland and Tunisia, here are the looming questions still needing to be answered before the summer.
HOW TO COPE WITHOUT ALPHONSO DAVIES
Embed from Getty ImagesOn the surface, this might seem like a serious, looming question. Alphonso Davies is one of the best players in the world and the current captain of the country.
But events since the turn of the year have given Canada nothing to squawk at regarding their left wing. Ali Ahmed has been in fantastic form since joining Norwich, and offers both creativity and a goal-scoring touch down the wing.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn his first few appearances for Canada, Marcelo Flores looked even better. Loads of little dribbly players have come and gone in international football, but Flores looked like a world beater. So nifty and shifty on the ball, Flores danced around the Tunisian defense, wreaking havoc down that left side.
Embed from Getty ImagesHe gave Canada a different dimension with the ball at his feet, constantly looking for the assist rather than to take on as many players as possible with his skill. The balance he offered by giving Richie Laryea the ability to inject more variety into his movement down the wing created a nice structure for the Canadians in attack.
Liam Millar could then be more direct and imposing down the right side, holding the width down the right as Niko Sigur stayed back.
Given that Millar himself plays on the left wing for Hull City, Canada have three solid options down that side. Make that four! They even have Jacob Shaffelburg to call upon, who is the quintessential Marsch footballer.
Embed from Getty ImagesDavies will remain Canada’s key man if fit, but without him, it’s not as big of a drop-off as it might seem. This isn’t to say that Canada will be better off without Davies. Far from the truth. But with Flores and Ahmed offering plenty of potential, Canada will have more than enough reinforcements.
HOW TO BALANCE THE HIGH-PRESS & HIGH-LINE
Embed from Getty ImagesI’ve been a fan of Jesse Marsch’s approach to football for a long time. His teams play physical, intense, high-pressing, in your face football. It’s perfect for Canada, who have adopted that same physical and direct approach since the days of John Herdman.
The problem for Canada is that this level of physicality seems to have become extremely erratic at times. Waterman and Sigur were diving into every challenge against Tunisia, even when no cover served in behind. It’s one thing to throw yourself into challenges and miss. It’s another when you’re meant to be part of an exclusive 3-man rest defense with no one else covering your position.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis is already an issue for Canada at the back without Cornelius and Bombito. Kamal Miller offers some nice advantages for his desire to carry the ball forward, get into the half-spaces, knock passes about, and be a generally good defender. But he lacks a lot of pace. Any time he found himself in a race against Tunisia or Iceland, he either backed out, or lost.
That’s not a good combination for Joel Waterman, who also proved himself to be highly erratic with his decision making and positioning. It’s also not the best combination for Richie Laryea, who’s meant to gallop forward down the left – thus making himself out of position in transitional moments.
Embed from Getty ImagesMiller’s approach requires someone to balance that out with poise and composure at the back. Someone who will sit, stay composed, sweep in behind, and make sound decisions. Cornelius offered exactly that as soon as he entered the frame for Canada against Tunisia. He gave himself far more yards to defend than Waterman before him, providing a better balance as Miller endeavoured to go forward.
But this will remain an issue no matter who you put into the eleven because of how Canada set up their midfield two to press high, and crucially, to counter-press together.
It’s not an issue to have Miller and Laryea both travelling forward, if you then have Nathan Saliba filling the gap. But that’s not what Canada ever attempted to do in these two matches. You had situations like that clear chance for Tunisia, where Waterman and Miller just both went up on a regular open-play cross from Flores.
Immediately, they were left for dead.
A similar lack of connectivity occurred within their high press, especially in the first-half against Iceland.
A high press usually requires every line to compact themselves high up the pitch. In turn, you get a high defensive line, stationed in the opposition’s half. Saliba and Koné are then important in winning possession back high up the pitch, especially in initial counter-pressing phases, where Marsch’s men have just lost the ball. As they step together, they have to win the ball. If they’re exposed, the entire press collapses behind them, especially with that lack of pace.
This is what happened on Iceland’s second goal against Canada, with the entire back-line disjointed and disconnected once the ball evaded the midfield.
Now with Cornelius being more willing to just keep his role simple, Bombito’s pace in behind provides that nice balance. Crepeau’s quality in sweeping in behind and getting off his line well will also likely be the best approach ahead of Dayne St. Clair. There are ways in which you can make this work.
But we’re also talking about the FIFA World Cup here. It doesn’t matter how fast your centre-backs are or how good your goalkeeper is at sweeping. This approach will leave Canada exposed, and result in more moments like Liam Millar having to race all the way back and make that crucial block. It’s bound to happen.
Embed from Getty ImagesPerhaps this team just needs more time to settle into Marsch’s philosophies. But there’s only a few more opportunities to do so in a high intensity match setting. They will need to get the balance right ahead of June, and it will need to come from the midfield pairing as much as the defensive selections.
WHO GETS LEFT BEHIND UP FRONT?
Embed from Getty ImagesCanada are finally at a place in men’s football where there are too many good options to count. Jesse Marsch has decisions to make everywhere on the field, and most of those decisions will be informed by the fact that he’s playing a pretty rigid 4-4-2.
A two-striker system means that he’ll probably want four forwards. He’ll want two starters, and two replacements.
Luckily, three of those players are obvious. Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Tani Oluwaseyi will be key to Marsch’s plans.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe fourth, however, is a bit of a mystery.
In these matches, Marsch gave the most minutes to Daniel Jebbison, who provided good energy and movement across the front-line. He even won a penalty! But in most key moments, he lacked a cutting edge to unlock the game. Among the other options, Jacen Russell-Rowe had less time to impress, and Aribim Pepple didn’t feature at all. Given that Theo Bair and Promise David remain injured, this is a big question mark for Marsch.
I would argue, it doesn’t have to be.
Embed from Getty ImagesCanada’s ‘Plan A’ works well with two strikers bouncing off each other and getting on the end of crosses into the box. But in any single-striker system, three strikers would be more than enough. So why not just make a 4-2-3-1 your ‘Plan B’? Throw Marcelo Flores into a ’10’ position where he can create from the middle, and prioritize one striker up top.
I don’t think a fourth striker is more necessary than finding a way to get Jonathan Osorio, Jacob Shaffelburg, Marcelo Flores and Liam Millar all into this team.
If it’s going to be four strikers, Canada will likely hope to have Promise David or Theo Bair fit in time. Daniel Jebbison would probably sneak the spot if not. But I’d rather have the intensity of Millar and Shaffelburg; rather than Millar or Shaffelburg, if it came down to one or the other.
WHO GETS LEFT BEHIND IN DEFENSE?
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite a clean-sheet against Tunisia, this wasn’t the best defensive showing for Canada. Joel Waterman, Niko Sigur, and Kamal Miller all looked susceptible to mistakes.
Ralph Priso had a fantastic opening twenty-five minutes against Tunisia, flying into tackles, covering behind Waterman, and quickly making decisions on the ball. He often played, nice, crisp passes into Marcelo Flores out from the back, thinking about that forward pass and wanting to be positive on the ball. Then, whenever called upon to provide cover, he prevailed. Unfortunately, it was the third of those times sweeping in behind that he stretched too far and hurt his hamstring.
Despite it only being twenty-five minutes, Priso looked the most impressive defender against Tunisia. He balanced that line between aggression and physicality, with better positioning and speed to cover for the positioning of Laryea and Waterman. Unfortunately, it might not be enough to earn him a place. Luc De Fougerolles, Alistair Johnston, Derek Cornelius and Moise Bombito are all likely to return to the team. That leaves little room for some of the younger talents in this squad like Ralph Priso and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty who have done everything right to earn their spot.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe way I see it, Priso and Marshall-Rutty sneak into this squad only from injuries. If Adekugbe and Davies are both out, Marshall-Rutty has to be in. If some of the centre-backs are either out of form or injured, you have to go with the man in form – which is Ralph Priso.
It would be a big call to select a 23-year-old who just made his first two appearances for Canada, having only transitioned to centre-back late last season. But he’s been so solid for Vancouver this season, and his defensive proactivity could be crucial if he’s thrown into another game. At this point, I’d rather see a younger player who better fits a high-line, than an older player who is playing like they’re auditioning for Canada’s ice hockey team. Give him that 25th or 26th spot in the team, and if it comes down to it, you have a solid ball-playing centre-back that clearly fits the system.
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Without any international football for the next few months, these questions will continue to loom as Canada’s stars work toward full fitness at this summer’s tournament. The two matches against Iceland and Tunisia have given Jesse Marsch plenty to ponder, and he’ll have some big calls to make ahead of the summer.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
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