Slim margins: Recognizing a need to improve, Marsch looks to bolster Canada's set-piece potency

In contrast to Toronto's wide-open skies, Jesse Marsch used his last training session before Tuesday's match against Suriname to focus on soccer's tighter, more regimented moments: set pieces.

"We feel like we're a strong, big, athletic team, and we should take pride in the fact that if we can become a really good set-piece team, it will boost our chances to win in big moments," Marsch said after watching his men practice the often-orchestrated plays that start with dead balls, such as corner and free kicks.

Canada won the first leg of its CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname in sweltering conditions in Paramaribo last week, after some late heroics from Junior Hoilett gave them a narrow 1-0 victory.

The score was closer than it should have been, in part because of the team's ongoing frustrations with set pieces. Canada had seven corners and 15 free kicks in the away leg, several in dangerous spots. None troubled the Surinamese.

"I took some responsibility because I don't think we did enough preparation for that," Marsch said. "But we also talked that as a group we can do more, and we can do better."

Since his arrival in May, Marsch has been hard-pressed to devote precious training time to the game's more granular details. He's been more heavily occupied with expanding his player pool and establishing the rhythms of their open play.

But when weaker teams face strong ones — which will no doubt be the case for 35th-ranked Canada during the 2026 World Cup — set pieces can prove critical levellers, a chance to steal a win after stifling a freer-flowing opposition.

In the professional game, some set-piece coaches have become an unlikely kind of celebrity. Nicolas Jover, who works for Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, has enjoyed the mantle of "genius" after the English giant began scoring on corners with comparative ease.

Arsenal's recent affinity for set pieces is part of a larger trend. In the Premier League, for instance, about 18 per cent of goals came from set pieces in the 2020-21 season. Last year, that number ticked up to a little more than 21 per cent.

The importance of set pieces

Marsch, who coached professionally at RB Salzburg and Leeds before taking the Canada job, has likewise recognized the importance of dead-ball work.

"I value set pieces a lot," he said. "My teams have typically been good in that area, and creative."

The men have had a successful start under Marsch, earning a surprise fourth-place finish at last summer's Copa America, in spite of rather than because of their attack. They've scored nine times in his 12 games in charge, including Hoilett's lone marker over Suriname, ranked 136th in the world.

It's a small sample size, but only one of those goals came via set piece: Ismael Koné's spectacular finish off Jacob Shaffelburg's in-swinging corner, Canada's opening strike in an eventual shootout loss to Uruguay in July.

Franz Schiemer is the team's set-piece analyst, but he's not a full-time coach and works remotely. The former Austria international, who assisted Marsch at both RB Salzburg and Leeds, hasn't been with the team physically since their camp before Copa.

In the meantime, he hopes to see a return on his own limited investments as soon as Tuesday's rematch against Suriname.

"I feel like our preparation has been good this week," Marsch said. "Now it's about the execution: good service, aggressive movement, an intelligent understanding of how to be dangerous and be active in these times."

Because sometimes, he knows, the beautiful game is decided in the most clinical ways.