KEY TAKEAWAYS: CanMNT's new-look mentality shines as they reach Copa América quarter-finals | VAMOS! Presented by Degree
They won’t ask how, as they got the job done, and that’s all that matters to the CanMNT in the end.
It wasn’t pretty at times - in fact, it even got quite ugly, but that won’t bother Canada, who survived their inaugural Copa América group stage participation to reach the quarter-finals for the first time thanks to a 0-0 draw against Chile on Saturday.
After Argentina had given them some help in the other Group A match, defeating Peru 2-0, it allowed Canada to advance with a draw, with Argentina’s win ensuring that the only way Canada could get eliminated was through a loss to Chile.
And while they came close to relinquishing that draw late, nearly conceding at the death if not for Maxime Crépeau’s fingertips, they managed to see things over the line to advance.
With that, they marked a key step forward for this program, one that had seemed to be taking steps backwards since the 2022 World Cup, with this accomplishment finally marking a return to the linear growth they’d shown between 2019 and 2022.
The #CanMNT have done it! They've reached the QFs of the 2024 Copa América!
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) June 30, 2024
Massive for Jesse Marsch & this🇨🇦team, who showed incredible mentality here. Wasn't always pretty, but they did what they needed to
Huge for them in their journey to 2026...and they're not done👀
A further sign of that growth? Despite putting in a suave group stage performance, riding defensive solidity and a steely resolve to reach the knockouts, they enter the next round of the tournament feeling like they’ve still got another level to hit, not satisfied with their showing to date.
Instead of sitting back and reflecting on what they accomplished, which included getting out of a group with three savvy Conmebol sides who have made a habit of deep runs in this tournament, they’re looking at what they’ll need to do to keep this ride going a little bit longer, which is a sign of their improved mentality.
“Yeah, look, I think we can improve on almost everything,” head coach Jesse Marsch said after the Chile game.
He did later add, however, when asked about what this means: “I recognize that it's a big accomplishment and an accomplishment that wasn't going to be easy, so I hope that back home, people are inspired by this team.”
But before they focus on what’s next, as they’ll play either Venezuela, Ecuador or Mexico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday, July 5th, here is a look back at what stood out from Canada’s performance in the group stages.
Canada shows off savvy Concacaf mentality:
Heading into this tournament, it was hard to gauge how Canada might fare in this group. On paper, there was no doubt they could compete with Argentina, Chile and Peru - in fact, they were easily the second-best team behind Argentina by most key metrics.
Yet, it was hard to confidently peg them as a side that could get through to the knockouts, as it was felt they lacked one key thing that Chile and Peru had in spades - experience, and more specifically, experience making deep runs in tournaments.
For a generation of Canadian players whose landmark achievements before this tournament were to reach two quarter-finals and one semi-final at the Concacaf Gold Cup, making the final four of the Concacaf Nations League just once in three tries, and failing to get out of their group or win a game at the 2022 World Cup, it felt like they might struggle against an Argentina team who entered this tournament as defending World Cup and Copa América champions, a Peru side who has reached the semi-finals of four of the last five Copa América’s, and a Chile side who has reached the semi-finals in three of the last four Copa América’s. Talk about a gulf of experience.
Because of that, it puts into perspective how remarkable it is for Canada to reach the knockout stages in just their first participation at this tournament, especially given that it came at the expense of a Peruvian side who failed to reach the knockout stages for the first time since 1995, and a Chile side who failed to reach the knockouts for the first time since 2004. 
But while some will look at that and suggest that it’s a sign of Canada’s talent as a team, which certainly helped them get through, it’s worth noting that the biggest reason Canada pulled this off was due to the one thing some saw as a weakness of theirs - their mentality.
More specifically, they managed to look like a savvy and composed Conmebol team in this tournament, managing different obstacles with ease.
Having failed to get anything out of their opener against Argentina despite playing well as they failed to score and got too stretched defensively in the second half, they then bounced back to win a must-win match against Peru where they overcame heat, physical play and fatigue to pick up a crucial 1-0 victory.
Then, despite entering their match against Chile needing another result to advance, they weren’t fazed by the humidity, more physicality or a pro-Chilean crowd, picking up a composed 0-0 draw.
And that’s impressive. Even as they fielded concerns from opposing coaches that they were toeing a “thin line between strength and violence”, and that they were "physical", Canada didn’t get drawn into any psychological battles or wars of words, just keeping their heads down and playing their game.
In fact, they ended up looking like the savvy Conmebol side that many expected Peru and Chile to be, as shown by how they were able to draw red cards out of Peru and Chile in each of those matchups, doing well to toe the right side of that line of violence they were accused of getting too close to.
Often, in a tournament like this, a skilled team like Canada would’ve been expected to get dragged into shenanigans and show their naivety and inexperience with how they responded to it, but instead, they showed that they don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and getting into the fight themselves.
On scoring goals, earning red cards, and the mental maturity it took to keep cool heads in heated moments 🔥
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 30, 2024
▶️ Watch 𝙑𝘼𝙈𝙊𝙎! Presented by @Degree on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/zZUCz9Od6F
That’s massive, as it can be tough for skilled teams to be able to hit that switch to find the mentality needed to survive these sorts of games, but by doing so as they did Canada now showed that opponents might be better off in leaving the shenanigans at home and stick to trying to disrupt Canada with tactical adjustments instead of using psychological warfare.
“We tried to understand what playing South American opponents is like,” Marsch said. “With the physicality, the savviness and the gamesmanship, all of these things that that we couldn't be naive to, we had to stay disciplined but also understand how to handle referees, handle opponents, win our duels all without crossing the line, and that (ended up) benefitting us.”
New-look backline shining:
If you told anyone heading into this tournament that Canada made it through the group stages, most would’ve thought ‘Okay, Canada’s offence must’ve stepped up’. Especially after the 2022 World Cup, where Canada scored just twice (with one being an own goal) en route to their exit, a lot were looking at the attack as an area that needed to be better for this tournament, which was seen as a dress rehearsal for how the 2026 World Cup might look for them.
Because of that, it would’ve surprised most to see that Canada were actually even worse offensively in this tournament compared to the 2022 World Cup (more on that in a bit), as they scored just one goal in three games.
Yet, that’s because one area of their game took a huge step forward, and that was their defence, as they allowed just two goals, both coming against Argentina, keeping two clean sheets in their decisive games against Peru and Chile to advance.
That’s massive, because while Canada’s offence drew a lot of scrutiny at the World Cup, so did their defence, as they conceded seven goals in three games, which was always going to be tough for them to overcome.
This time around, however, they took a huge step forward defensively, and it paid off for them even despite a lack of goals.
But that’s a big credit to head coach Jesse Marsch, who made some key tweaks tactically ahead of the tournament, while also tweaking the group he relied on to get the job done.
Despite not having much experience together as a back four, he leaned on Alphonso Davies, Derek Cornelius, Moïse Bombito and Alistair Johnston, which was a big call, especially given that the centre-back pair of Bombito and Cornelius had played just two games together before this tournament, coming in Marsch’s first two games in charge, while Davies has spent most of his time as an attacker for Canada over the past seven years (even if he’s been a world-class left back for Bayern).
Yet, all four responded to the challenge of leading this new back four, as Davies put together some of his most consistent performances for Canada on both sides of the ball, Johnston was a warrior at right back, while the pair of Cornelius and Bombito looked like they’d played together for years, giving Canada a nice mix of speed, size and ball-playing ability that they’ve lacked at that position for years.
Alistair Johnston put in a shift at RB for the #CanMNT vs🇨🇱. One of his best showings
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) June 30, 2024
In 90', he had:
38/46 passing (83%)
1 big chance created
9 passes into final 3rd
4 tackles
5 clearances (2 headed)
2 interceptions
4 recoveries
10/17 duels won
Brought grit+finesse tonight pic.twitter.com/MgKkr655u8
Not only that, but they showed good chemistry as a unit, too, which only grew as the tournament went along, even as they survived some rough moments such as the second half against Argentina, the first half against Peru and the first half against Chile. In fact, they seemed to grow as the moments got bigger - their best half together might’ve been the second half against Chile, which is remarkable given that three of the four were on yellow cards after Bombito earned a 7th-minute booking, Davies joined him in the 42nd minute and Johnston was disciplined in the 57th minute.
Now, this group can continue to grow together, too, as Cornelius is just 26, Johnston 25, Bombito 24 and Davies 23, meaning that their best days may still be in front of them.
As for Marsch, his system itself deserves credit, given that there were some concerns about how it might hold up against this level of opposition.
For example, after there were worries about how playing a 4-2-2-2 with a midfield double-pivot might hold up, those didn’t end up manifesting themselves, as they stayed compact and limited space between lines. From there, they picked their moments when to either press or sit back, and were comfortable in sometimes playing a high line, but then also sitting deeper.
That’s reflected in the stats, as even beyond their two clean sheets, their advanced numbers stand out, as they limited Peru and Chile to 17 shots and just 1.36 xG (WyScout), which while helped by the two sending-offs, is still impressive. And even against Argentina, Canada was quite solid defensively, holding Argentina to just 0.44 xG (OPTA) before they broke the dam with a 48th-minute goal that opened the game up.
Other than that, however, Canada were extremely solid defensively, and that gave them a chance in each game, and they’ll hope they can continue that as they get set for the knockout stages. 
Maxime Crépeau relishing the opportunity to be Canada’s #1:
Of course, when looking at the success of Canada’s defence, however, it’s hard to ignore arguably the most important figure to that, and that’s Maxime Crépeau, who deserves his own section after the tournament he’s had so far.
Despite entering this tournament with just 17 appearances under his belt for Canada after spending most of the last half-decade as the backup to Milan Borjan, it was felt that this was his time to shine after Borjan had been dropped out of the squad at the start of 2024. He first gave a glimpse of that in Canada’s 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago in their playoff match to qualify for this tournament back in March, but he then took things to another level in this group stage.
He started hot against Argentina, as despite conceding two goals, he made seven saves and prevented Canada from leaking more goals, facing 2.55 xGOT on the nine shots that found the net. Then, he followed that up with four saves on 0.95 xGOT against Peru, including a big late stop on Christian Cueva that ensured Canada would keep their win.
Lastly, he rounded things off with a strong showing against Chile, making four stops on 0.35 xGOT, making some big claims late.
While Crépeau’s saves have been valuable to this team, however, it’s worth noting that his success has come from other factors, too. For example, his ability to be aggressive and sweep off his line has been massive, which has helped Canada defend higher up the pitch, knowing that Crépeau will be right there behind them to stamp out any errors they make.
In fact, one of his best actions of the group stages came in the second half against Chile, where he came out and took care of a dangerous ball over the top, which won’t count as a save but certainly felt like it with how crucial of an intervention it was.
Elsewhere, he also brought good leadership and communication to the back line, which was massive given that they didn’t have much experience together, making it vital that their last line of defence was helping them stay organized and composed.
Providing a steady presence at the back, Maxime Crépeau takes home tonight’s @GatoradeCanada Performance of the Match! 🧤#CANMNT #CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/1N4Z9whgDp
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) June 30, 2024
Along with his play in possession, as he completed 78% of his passes, including all of his short passes, that also helped Canada calm games down on the ball, too.
You add in that he was even able to lend a helping hand in a scary situation in the Peru game, where a linesman collapsed due to the heat, with Crépeau the first on the scene there to help out, and it shows that he hardly seemed to set a foot wrong on or off the pitch.
But that’s why he’s been Canada’s most important player from the group stages, something he’ll look to build off of in the knockout stages, where he’ll be crucial to their success. In fact, if Canada reaches the semi-finals, he might be the favourite to win the tournament’s Golden Glove trophy - he’s been that good, standing out among some pretty good goalkeepers on the other teams.
Not bad for someone who didn’t even start the first game under Marsch, which went to Dayne St.Clair as a reward for a strong season with Minnesota, as Crépeau has since stepped up and has shown that he wants to lead this team going forward.
“Max(ime) (Crépeau) hasn’t just made big saves,” Marsch said. “But has also been very good off his line, has managed games, the tempo of how we want to play out of the back, he knows when to speed the game up and knows when to slow it down, so I think that all of his experience has meant that he's been very steady.”
Where are the goals?
For all of the positives Canada can take from their group stage performance, they’ve got one big concern heading into the quarter-finals - where are the goals going to come from?
As mentioned earlier, they only scored one goal in three games, coming via Jonathan David vs. Peru, which for a team whose biggest strength seems to be in the attack, is a massive worry for them.
The good news? They have been unlucky in front of goal, as they generated 3.46 xG (WyScout) across the three games, which suggests they should’ve scored two more goals than they did. It would’ve been a much bigger worry had they not been generating chances at all.
Of course, there’s the worry that a lot of that xG came against Peru and Chile when they had the advantage of being up a player, but that wasn’t even the case, as Canada’s best offensive showing was ironically against Argentina, where they had 10 shots and 1.5 xG, their best performance in both categories.
Yet, that all shows a few key things about where Canada has struggled offensively.
To begin, their finishing needs to be better. Given that they generated nine big chances in three games (OPTA), to only turn one of those into a goal is a big concern, as they’ve got the finishing talent to put goals away, especially if chances are there.
Then, they’ve also got to do better at breaking down low blocks, as they struggled to generate shots against Peru and Chile despite spending large portions of those games up a player and keeping more possession. It’s no coincidence that they were better against Argentina, who left space on the counter as they tried to break down Canada, as that space was not there to be had against Peru or Chile, even when up a player.
From there, they need to shoot the ball more, as they could’ve generated even more xG if they had more than 7.67 shots per game, because with the quality of chances they generated on such a low volume of opportunities, they could’ve been pushing 1.5 to 1.9 xG a game if they generated more chances.
The xG from this game was 🇨🇦2.01-0.62🇵🇪, but shots were 🇨🇦5-9🇵🇪, SOT were 🇨🇦2-4🇵🇪 and 4/5 of those shots (and 1.81 of that xG) came after the red card
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) June 26, 2024
Shows the struggles that the #CanMNT had on the ball, and why it's the biggest area Jesse Marsch needs to focus on and fix
Lastly, they’ve got to find a way to get more out of Jonathan David and Cyle Larin. David ended up scoring a pivotal goal vs. Peru to send them through and had some excellent performances on and off the ball, but he had just three shots in three games, while Larin also had just three shots despite putting in some strong defensive performances of his own.
In particular, that duo has struggled together as of late - Larin now has just 1 goal in his last 11 games for Canada, while David has just two in his last 10. Given their status as the CanMNT’s two top scorers of all-time, that’s a big concern, as they’ve struggled to play together against bigger opposition after scoring goals by the boatload against Concacaf teams.
Yet, that’s the big question Marsch now faces as he tries to provide a jolt to his attack. Dropping a Larin may be tough to do after what he’s done defensively, as it has played a key role in Canada’s success there, but Canada does also need goals from their attackers, and it’s not as if their other attacking options are going to completely shake up how they play defensively.
Because of that, it feels like Marsch has three main options up front based on what the group stage showed.
To begin, there’s the status quo, which is the safest option, but wouldn’t solve some of what’s plagued Canada offensively, which would make it a big gamble that would put a lot of pressure on Larin and David to step up.
Then, there’s the idea of tweaking things tactically by bringing in more of a #10 to play underneath David, such as Jonathan Osorio, who had a strong two games in midfield against Peru and Chile but is more comfortable playing higher up the pitch. That could help support David, say, who has had to drop a lot deeper to compensate for a lack of a #10 on the pitch, which while something he’s good at, has limited his goalscoring ability.
Lastly, there’s the option of switching up with a like-for-like switch, with Tani Oluwaseyi looking like a potential choice after nearly scoring off the bench against Peru and Chile, which could provide a bit of a different look up front, helping jolt the attack.
It feels like one thing is for sure - David’s not going anywhere, as he’ll be crucial to any success that Canada ends up having with what he can do on and off the ball, but it’ll be intriguing to see how Marsch tweaks his attack around him, as it feels like he’ll need to do something after seeing his team score just one goal in five games since his arrival.
“We can be better around the goal,” Marsch said. “We can convert some of these half chances into big chances, and some of our big chances into goals.”
What to make of Canada’s depth?
Lastly, the thing to watch out for will be how Marsch manages his depth, as he’s mostly proven to be someone who likes to rely on a core group of players, as he used the same outfield players in his first three games in charge, and then only made minor tweaks to that group in the two games since, meaning that he’s only started 13 different outfield players in the five games he’s coached.
Then, he’s not been one to experiment off the bench, either, using just 16 out of 23 outfield players in this tournament, as he’s mostly turned to the same group of players when looking to bring players in fresh. That’s worked out pretty well for him, to be fair - Jacob Shaffelburg has been a revelation this tournament, while Richie Laryea, Osorio and Oluwaseyi are some other names who have done well off the bench, for example.
Did Richie Laryea and Jacob Shaffelburg do enough to earn another start at the 2024 Copa America for the #CanMNT? 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 30, 2024
▶️ Watch 𝙑𝘼𝙈𝙊𝙎! Presented by @Degree pic.twitter.com/V0T12Cn3Kq
At the same time, he’s not been the most aggressive with his subs, either - other than a triple sub at half time of the Peru game designed to jolt a lethargic group, he hasn’t made another triple sub or any other half time changes, and only used his full allotment of five substitutes against Peru, using four against Argentina and Chile.
That’s not been a worry so far, but as a tournament wears on, one can wonder if players will start to get tired, especially in a system as intense as Marsch’s.
Plus, for a team that has struggled to find goals, it’s been a surprise to see players like Theo Bair, Ali Ahmed and Mathieu Choinière not see the pitch at all, either, as they could’ve helped give Canada a different look in key areas.
There have been benefits to sticking with that smaller group, no doubt, which has helped grow the team’s chemistry in a short time under Marsch, but depth can only help a team manage the slog of a tournament.
Perhaps, however, Marsch will look to lean on that depth as they now get set to tackle their toughest match yet in the quarter-finals, but until then, it’s something to monitor.
“I'm always trying to look at the game tactically, and look at the form and fitness and of each player and, and figure out how to help the game,” Marsch said of his subs. “That’s a big job for a coach, how to how to make subs, and I've been pretty pleased with the performances from the bench, and pretty pleased with the decisions that we've made, for the most part - our players have helped us win when they’ve come from the bench, so we've got to continue that trend.”
