Soccer
Jesse Marsch stays coy on who could start up front for Canada against Qatar
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Canada are back in World Cup action on Thursday as they look to build on their first-ever point at the tournament when they play Qatar in Vancouver.
The 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina showed some encouraging signs for the co-hosts, especially the way the side managed to fight back from 1-0 down to secure a draw, thanks to Cyle Larin's strike twelve minutes from time.
Attention now turns to finding a first win on this stage when they come up against the hosts from four years ago, who also earned a point in their first game against Switzerland.
One of the big questions ahead of the game is who boss Jesse Marsch will play upfront alongside Jonathan David. Having started with Tani Oluweusyi in the first game, it was Larin who came off the bench and nabbed the equaliser, leading to calls for him to play from the off in game two.
Marsch is keeping his cards close to his chest about his line-up but has admitted how happy he is to have the choice of options in attack depending on who their opponents are.
Talking ahead of the game, he said, "We have a lot of very athletic strikers, but they all kind of have different qualities, which I think is brilliant for me as a manager to have these kinds of weapons available.
"And you could say that about our 10s, you could even say that about our sixes position, right? I'm not trying to be cute, but I don't wanna try to be overly clever; you just wanna give your players the best opportunity to go out and play their best.
"So we clearly have an identity and a way of playing. We use different tactical nuances based on what the opponent is gonna present to us and where we think their strengths and weaknesses are.
"And then we use the weapons and the types of weapons based on what we think an opponent will present to us to find a way to gain an edge.
"So we chose Tani in the first match because we wanted to really have somebody to stretch their back line and test their back line."
Jesse Marsch debates Canada's striking options
Different kind of game
Bosnia presented a real physical battle for the Canadians, who managed to see off their approach and nick a point, but it will be a different game against a Qatar side who will sit back and soak pressure and then look to counter against Marsch's men.
As well as who to pick up front, there's also the question of whether Alphonso Davies also comes into contention, but the national team boss is prepared to select his line-up accordingly.
Adding, "Qatar at times sits really deep, puts a lot of players on their back line. And so we'll need some ability to still get behind their back line. But we'll need some ability to combine and create crosses and create some moments in and around the box that can be dangerous.
"So it could require us to use different kinds of players.
"But in the end, I think the versatility we have overall in our team is a real bonus."
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