Ian Wright has criticised Jesse Marsch following Canada’s group-stage defeat to Switzerland in Vancouver.
Canada were top of Group B heading into the final game, needing just a point against Switzerland to stay there.
Unfortunately for Marsch’s side, Switzerland won 2-1 and will also play their round-of-32 match in Vancouver.
Canada will now travel to Los Angeles for their first knockout round game, where they will no longer have home advantage.
Former Arsenal and England striker Wright was disappointed with Canada’s performance and took a swipe at Marsch.
What Ian Wright said about Jesse Marsch after Canada’s defeat to Switzerland
Canada looked tentative against Switzerland from the first whistle, and only started playing after falling two goals down.
Their dismal performance suggested they were not bothered about playing their round-of-32 match at home, even though that was not the case.
Marsch remained upbeat in his interview immediately after full-time, but Wright was not impressed with his reaction.
The Arsenal legend wished Marsch had instilled more confidence into the Canadian team before the game rather than discussing it afterwards.
Wright said on ITV, “It doesn’t make sense that you have an opportunity to win a game and stay in your country, where you’re going to have the fans’ support, and then talk about how much he believes in the heart of this team…
“He should have had that at the start of the game today, so they could stay here and have a better chance.
“Sometimes, he sounds a bit performative to me. I don’t want to be nasty or anything, but he just sounds like he’s saying the right thing for the sake of saying it.”
Marsch already had a reputation in the English media for being “performative” from his tenure at Leeds in the Premier League.
He is always emotional on the touchline and speaks passionately in interviews, even after disappointing results.
Marsch will now be under immense pressure to galvanise his players before the next round and to prevent them from starting another game tamely.
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