ORLANDO — Canada coach Jesse Marsch said he and his team “are not satisfied” even after qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Copa América for the first time in their tournament debut.
Canada drew 0-0 with Chile at Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday to finish second in Group A with four points, behind world champion Argentina.
They will face the winners of Group B (with Venezuela currently leading the group) in the quarterfinals on July 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“We are not satisfied. The group is not satisfied. They want to move on,” Marsch said in his post-match press conference. “They know that no matter who our next opponent is, it's going to be a tough game. But they believe in themselves. We're excited for this next challenge.”
Chile defender Gabriel Suazo was sent off after picking up his second yellow card in the 27th minute to give Canada a man advantage, but the game remained tied, with Canadian substitute Tani Oluwaseyi having a goal ruled out for offside in stoppage time.
“I'm challenging them to grow and improve, to be more experienced professionals, more mature players,” Marsch said. “They have impressed me greatly, from the first training session. I am enjoying being their coach. I am proud of this achievement. But, once again, we are not satisfied.”
Canada was defeated 2-0 by Argentina in the opening match of the tournament in Atlanta on June 20, before beating Peru 1-0 five days later.
Saturday's 0-0 draw with Chile was enough to advance to the quarterfinals, after Argentina beat Peru 2-0 in the other match of the night.
“I thought we would get through the group, I really did,” Marsch said. “I knew it would be a big challenge. Above all, I was trying to prepare the team for the cunning and intelligence of the South American teams.”
“We have had to grow and understand what the advantage, power and competitive will of South America is like… We have grown. Not only from a football perspective, but from a maturity perspective.”
Marsch only took charge of Canada in May, having been out of management since leaving Leeds in February 2023.
“When I took over, I knew the group,” Marsch said Saturday. “I knew that the task ahead of us was going to be difficult. But we have played five games and we have not conceded a goal in eight of the ten halves.”
“There was a lot of talk about defensive weaknesses and no one was sure how the team would be able to defend. But the entire team has been very organized and tactically disciplined. We have looked athletic and strong in every game.”
“We need a little more aggression,” Marsch added. “I need them to be angry with me sometimes when they don't play, I need them to be angry with the coach a little bit for certain decisions, but we'll get there. That's part of the maturation, the demand and the expectations we have of each other, which is what this is really going to take.”
Chile, which won the Copa America in 2015 and 2016, failed to score in all three of its matches at the tournament.
“This team can score goals,” assistant coach Sergio Santín insisted in his post-match press conference, while manager Ricardo Gareca served a one-match ban after his side returned to the field late for the second half of their match against Argentina.
“We believe that these forwards are going to score goals. In the Copa America, the [lack of] “I have to accept the objectives, but I believe, and we believe, in the forwards we have.”
Chile was unhappy that the referee did not penalize Canadian defender Moïse Bombito for apparently hitting Rodrigo Echeverría in the face with his elbow early in the match.
“It's incredible that with the technology that exists in football today, they can make this mistake,” goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who missed the match through injury, told X, sharing television images of the incident. “It's hard to understand, it's impossible to compete against this. We came out with our heads held high, we gave everything.”
