Canada Salvages Historic Draw, Jesse Marsch Faces Backlash Over U.S. Anthem Comments

Canada earned its first World Cup point after a 1-1 draw with Bosnia, but the result was not enough to satisfy everyone. Bosnia led until late, when substitute Kyle Larin equalized and rescued the Canadians after a wasteful performance that included several missed chances and an off night from Jonathan David. Coach Jesse Marsch said, “Without him, we are not the same team,” and added that he had reminded Larin before he came on of the strong form he has shown this season at Southampton.

Marsch admitted he was unhappy with Canada’s lack of aggression in the first half. “We were not there. We talked about it, and in the second half we came out differently. We will need to make sure we learn from what happened today. We will keep pushing forward,” he said. He also said Bosnia was “what we expected them to be,” and conceded that the draw was ultimately deserved.

Even as Marsch welcomed the point, he was at the center of controversy after saying at a pregame press conference that, when he was an assistant with the U.S. national team, he had to beg players to sing the American anthem. Former U.S. star Clint Dempsey replied, “I can’t take that guy too seriously,” and added, “He switched sides and sang another country’s anthem.” Thierry Henry also criticized Marsch, though he praised Larin, calling it a “big World Cup moment” and saying the striker showed character, belief and timing. Canada midfielder Ismael Kone said Larin is “one of the veterans” and noted that he has worn the shirt for 12 years.

Larin responded with a pointed message of his own: “I want to play every game, I worked hard all season, but sometimes things are out of your control. I showed today that I need to play.” Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said a late equalizer was painful but called 1-1 a fair result and a good point for the rest of the tournament. Bosnia next faces Switzerland on June 18 at 22:00, and Canada plays Qatar on June 19 at 1:00.