In the moments after Canada’s men’s national team fell 1–0 to Australia on Friday night in Montreal, Jesse Marsch didn’t need to say much to the players in the locker room—he had Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to turn to.
Carney spoke to the players alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who. The two attended a 2026 FIFA World Cup photo opportunity in Ottawa, as Canada prepares to host the tournament alongside the United States and Mexico.
Afterwards, they travelled to Montreal to watch the match in a suite flanked by CF Montréal owner Joey Saputo and Canada's FIFA Sherpa and Olympic kayaker, the Hon. Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State for Sport.
“You are going to transform this country, and we’re going to transform this country through the process of doing it, we’re bringing it home,” Carney said to the squad. “We’re going to do it in partnership…this is soccer, it’s unified, showing the world what Canada is, the kind of people we are.”
