TORONTO — Canada coach Jesse Marsch got an inkling of how Copa America might go off the field after meeting with CONMEBOL organizers before the U.S.-based tournament.
“They were telling me about weather patterns in different cities and they were telling me about facilities,” Marsch said in an interview Monday. “At one point I said ‘You guys don’t know what you’re talking about.’
“They didn’t even know I was American … They made the mistake of thinking that they were just going to bring all their people from South America and be able to run a tournament in a new country and they were going to be able to do it seamlessly. And they made a massive mistake in that. They didn’t incorporate enough people on the ground who actually knew what the environment and spaces that they were working in were actually like and how to get things done.”
Sunday’s Argentina-Colombia final in Miami Gardens, Fla., was delayed for 80-plus minutes by pre-match chaos at the gates of Hard Rock Stadium. After the final whistle of last Wednesday’s semifinal in Charlotte, star striker Darwin Nunez and Uruguay teammates, fearing for the safety of their families, went into the stands at Bank of America Stadium as fans brawled.
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa, prior to the Canada semifinal, lambasted organizers for not doing enough to protect the families of his players seated behind the Uruguay bench, among other criticisms.
Marsch, speaking after Bielsa, also decried the tournament’s organization.
“For me, his tournament has not been professional,” he told the pre-game news conference, adding Canada had been treated “like second-class citizens.”
Copa America, run by the South American confederation CONMEBOL, was supposed to be a dress rehearsal of sorts for the 2026 World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting with Mexico and the U.S.
Hard Rock Stadium, for example, is slated to host four World Cup group-stage matches, a round-of-32 game, a quarterfinal and the third-place game.
Marsch believes the World Cup organization under FIFA will be “very different.”
“Their overall experience for running tournaments, I think, is at a much different level,” he said. “I think, especially here in Canada, that this will be run very professionally, very cleanly. And it will be great.”
Canada is hosting 13 of the 104 games at the ’26 World Cup, with seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto. Mexico is also staging 13 games with the U.S. hosting the remaining 78 games at the expanded 48-team soccer showcase.
“I just want to show up to a stadium where we have a home fan base … That will be a good feeling,” said Marsch, whose first eight games at the helm have been in Europe or the U.S.
Next up for 48th-ranked Canada are away friendlies against the 11th-ranked U.S. and No. 15 Mexico in the September FIFA window. Canada faces the U.S. on Sept. 7 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City and Mexico on Sept. 10 at AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.
The matches are preparation for the 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League, which Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and Panama — as the four top-ranked League A teams — will join at the quarterfinal stage in November.
Canada will play the best first-place team from Group A or B, which would be No. 52 Costa Rica or No. 53 Jamaica if the FIFA rankings hold true.
Since taking the Canada job May 13, Marsch has hardly stood still with games in the Netherlands, France, Atlanta, Kansas City, Orlando, Arlington, East Rutherford, N.J., and Charlotte.
After Saturdays’ penalty shootout loss to Uruguay in the third-place game in Charlotte, he flew north to take in Forge FC’s CPL game Sunday against visiting Pacific FC. Monday was a day of media obligations, with more to come Tuesday in Montreal.
Then he plans to return to his home in Italy, to plan what’s next.
He will leave with a smile from his first stint in charge of the Canadian men, knowing that the time he took to ponder his next move after being let go by England’s Leeds United in February 2023 — was well spent.
“I took my time because I can take my time,” he said. “And I don’t need to work. I love to work.
“And I wanted to make sure that whatever I did next, I was going to be able to represent the things that I believe in and that I was going to work with people that have similar kinds of passions and thoughts about what this experience should be. I couldn’t be happier that I found that place.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
