Like many Canadians, Jesse Marsch stayed up late to watch the Toronto Blue Jays’ remarkable playoff run.
Given the Canada men’s soccer coach is based in Italy, that meant very late.
“Since I’ve been living in Europe, I’ve only gotten up in the middle of the night to watch football, soccer matches — until the World Series this year,” Marsch told a virtual availability Thursday. “So I was a Jays fan, maybe not as much as the rest of Toronto, the rest of Canada, but this is the first time, for another sport, that I was getting up in the middle of the night because I had the fever as well.”
With his eye on next summer’s World Cup, Marsch also took note of the entire country supporting the baseball team — “people coming alive for the Blue Jays.”
“And I believe that we will be even bigger,” the American declared. “I believe that the World Cup at home, in Canada, will be even bigger.”
Marsch said fans got a “taste of success and excitement and inspiration” from the Jays’ World Series run, saying the baseball team “represented themselves in all positive ways and gave everything they have.”
“And I can tell you right now that is exactly what this national team will be about. And it will electrify this country,” he said. “And I have no doubt that this team will be to ready to really make history and to do something very special.
“If you’re not on board yet and if you’re not feeling the excitement yet, it’s time. It’s time to get on board,” he added. “It’s time to understand that there’s a movement happening.”
The 28th-ranked Canadians will get a taste of the home support on Nov. 13 when they take on No. 23 Ecuador at Toronto’s BMO Field.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
