Canada rotates, offers little in Ivory Coast draw in last Gold Cup tuneup

New York Times

a day ago

After a declarative win over Ukraine that featured many of Canada's expected World Cup starters, head coach Jesse Marsch made 10 total changes to his team from three days earlier in Tuesday night's bout vs. the Ivory Coast. The outcome in Toronto was as expected: a largely ugly and overtly physical 0-0 draw, followed by a 5-4 Ivory Coast triumph in penalties, which were played as part of the Canadian Shield set of friendlies leading into the Concacaf Gold Cup.
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Not only was there little entertainment value in Canada's draw, Marsch likely struggled to learn much in a game that stopped as much as it flowed. This was as disjointed a performance from Canada under Marsch since a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in his first match as head coach.
There were some takeaways to glean, though, before Canada begins its run at the Gold Cup in Vancouver on June 17:
This is what happens when you make nearly a complete line change from one game to the next.
In stark contrast to Saturday's win, Canada was disjointed in possession. Without a clear understanding of teammates' movements, Canada could not execute Marsch's pressing demands consistently. And while the manager was inherently looking at this match as something of an audition for bench players to help stake their claim, multiple players appeared to treat it as such. It was easy to spot moments when players were trying to do too much individually and act outside of Marsch's system.
Defensively, Canada made efforts to close things down near goal. But Ivory Coast still cut through the middle of the park in transition too easily at times, which led to the better of the attacking chances. The visitors got them largely by matching a work rate that Canada has made its calling card under Marsch.
The game lost its flow midway through the second half and gave way to a boxing match. Yellow cards added up. So it felt like there was little to learn from a game that offered little of the back and forth that a competitive match might.
Joel Waterman looked like a rock around the goal. Sam Adekugbe had moments when his pace and know-how helped Canada be responsible in defending before he exited with an injury. But these were still just brief moments of positivity that Canada offered.
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Jayden Nelson showed interest in breaking the game open early on but also looked like a player trying to do too much. Jonathan Osorio hardly impacted the game.
Ismaël Koné played like a man who wants to reclaim his position in the middle of the park for good. He pressed effectively, moved the ball with equal parts smarts and creativity and looked, with every step, like a player who had confidence in his arsenal. That confidence wasn't always evident in Copa América. That said, later in the game, his passing looked sloppy. Marsch will need a possible starter to be locked in for longer stretches.
Still, if we put aside individual mistakes, can players really be blamed all that much? They were puzzle pieces trying to be assembled on the fly – without any real photo on the box to use as a guide.
On a night when Marsch wanted to learn more about his team, he may not have received many sufficient answers.
One of the few starting spots in 2026 open is up top.
Jonathan David is one of a handful of guaranteed starters. After that, things get murky. The testy draw vs. Ivory Coast and lack of purpose in attack reinforced just how muddled things truly are for Canada's forward group right now.
Promise David showed (sorry) promise against Ukraine, but fitness concerns kept him out Tuesday. Canada's new forward duo, featuring Daniel Jebbison and Cyle Larin, didn't do much with their opportunity.
Positionally, Jebbison drifted too often. He wasn't nearly clean enough on the ball. Canada never appeared dangerous when he was contributing to the buildup.
You can understand why Marsch fought to recruit the dual-national: there is potential in Jebbison if he finally starts to log regular first-team minutes with his club. But right now, he does not look like he is ready to start for Canada in meaningful games.
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As for Larin, Marsch recognizes one of Canada's longstanding veterans has the kind of experience and sway within the squad that few others do. But he must also be reminded of Larin's lack of foot speed and lack of decisive finishing ability at this stage.
It feels like the immediate answer will come by Marsch testing different forwards with Jonathan David. Of course, different options will bring different skill sets against different types of opponents. Tani Oluwaseyi might not offer the power in possession that Promise David would, but he can certainly sprint more when Canada needs to play in transition.
But for an incredibly intelligent player like Jonathan David, chemistry matters. The Gold Cup could end up seeing more rotation up front as Marsch determines who can actually be dynamic enough in attack alongside one of the world's better emerging forwards.
It was the kind of match where a takeaway emerges from a player spending a little over 10 minutes on the field.
But those 13 minutes or so did reveal plenty into Marsch's mindset moving forward: He's clearly a big believer in 19-year-old Luc De Fougerolles – and for good reason.
From the minute he stepped on the field, De Fougerolles brought fans out of their seats with a well-timed, crunching tackle. He stepped forward to play the ball with confidence. He showed his football IQ with smart passing, too.
His age did show itself when his weak penalty effort was saved, however.
Still, Marsch has plenty of reason to believe in De Fougerolles as a possible starter for the future. At 19, he is impressionable enough to adjust quickly to what Marsch wants. There is an aggressiveness in his approach that Marsch doesn't just appreciate: it could change the course of games for Canada.
'In training I always hear (Marsch) in my ear when I'm not tight enough to a striker, not jumping on the midfield or when I should,' De Fougerolles said. 'He's always letting me know and obviously when I am in camp, then I feel like I have to do that and I do feel like winning more duels as well when I go for it and I'm not worried about what's behind me, just going and pressing people and I feel that when I get back to Fulham, it puts me in a good place. Because a lot of the players are not really expecting it.'