Canada know they will win Group B with a victory or draw in Wednesday’s finale against Switzerland in Vancouver and secure at least one more match on home soil.
But manager Jesse Marsch insists that math won’t result in a more conservative approach from his squad as they attempt to capture the imagination of a nation participating in only its second World Cup since 1986.
“I think all of us as players and coaches have been in situations like this where a draw is enough, but I feel like the worst way to get the draw is to play for a draw,” Marsch said on Tuesday. “I think you have to go into the match and play for a win. And then in the later stages of the match, you can use your substitutes and you can use tactics to now manage what you need out of the match.”
Canada (1-0-1, 4 points) will be without Ismael Kone, who suffered a gruesome broken leg in their 6-0 victory over Qatar on Thursday.
But Marsch said star fullback Alphonso Davies will be available off the bench after recovering from a left hamstring injury that kept him out of Canada’s first two matches.
Switzerland (1-0-1, 4 points) are attempting to advance beyond the group phase for a fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh straight major tournament.
They don’t necessarily need more points, though, like Canada, they have not yet mathematically qualified.
But a victory over a co-host nation would be a statement of intent for a group seeking to reach its first quarterfinal since it hosted the tournament in 1954.
“I think our strength was always that we work as a team on the pitch,” said Swiss manager Murat Yakin, who is approaching a half-decade on the job. “We also know we don’t have three top-10 players in the world like other nations do. So it only works in that way.”
Yet this particular squad also has depth, as evidenced by their 4-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.
Johan Manzambi and Ruben Vargas combined for three of their four goals after both entered in the 71st minute, aided by a red card to Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic in the 80th.
–Group B: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar, Seattle: With both teams on one point, a loss or a draw does little for either. A win might result in a second-round meeting with the United States in Santa Clara, Calif.
–Group C: Morocco vs. Haiti, Atlanta: The Atlas Lions would love a win by a wide margin to boost their chances of topping the group. But Les Grenadiers can cause problems and will play freely after their elimination.
–Group C: Scotland vs. Brazil, Miami Gardens, Fla.: The Tartan Army has endeared itself to much of the Eastern seaboard. Whether Scotland can stay longer depends in part on what kind of performance they can muster against the five-time champions.
–Group A: South Africa vs. South Korea, Guadalupe, Mexico: Bafana Bafana remain alive following their late leveler against the Czech Republic. To advance, they’ll need an upset win over the Koreans, who would finish second in the group with a victory or draw.
–Group A: Mexico vs. Czech Republic, Mexico City: The Czechs have everything to play for in their group finale. Mexico are already assured the top spot in the group and are expected to rotate their squad heavily, with 40-year-old Guillermo Ochoa to make one last World Cup start in goal.
–Field Level Media
