Canada’s Jesse Marsch says ‘I’d rather be us than them’ after World Cup Round of 16 loss to Morocco

Canada’s time at the World Cup might be over, but the team’s coach could not be prouder.

The Canadians’ run in the tournament ended Saturday in the Round of 16 with a 3-0 loss to Morocco. Head coach Jesse Marsch, in his post-match interview on the field at NRG Stadium, was so ecstatic over how his players performed that he said he’d still rather be on his side than the Moroccan team.

“What a privilege our fans have had to root a team on like this, that goes after the game, that doesn’t play defensive, that shows that they can be better,” Marsch said when asked about what the future might look like for Canadian soccer. “Right, of course, we have to be in these situations more and more and we have to find ways to succeed and we have to build from that. But what a great team.

Jesse Marsch, head coach of Canada, applauds fans after the team’s defeat in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Canada and Morocco at Houston Stadium on July 4, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Getty Images

“I’d rather be us than them, as good as Morocco is, I’d rather be us. I’m really proud of our guys, we went after the game. They’re hurting right now, but my goodness, I couldn’t be prouder.”

Canada went on its best World Cup run ever, securing the country’s first-ever win in the tournament on June 18 over Qatar in a one-sided 6-0 affair.

It then reached the knockout stage and beat Switzerland 2-1 in the Round of 32 to make this Cinderella run of sorts even sweeter.

The Canadians held firm through the first half on Saturday, keeping the game scoreless until the opening minutes of the second half when Morocco opened the scoring on a goal from Azzedine Ounahi, who essentially iced away the game with another strike in the 82nd minute.

Soufiane Rahimi added a third goal in stoppage time to make Morocco’s win all the more inevitable.

Jesse Marsch and Canada held their heads up high. Getty Images

Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.

Prefer to check out the action live and in person? Shop World Cup 2026 tickets on SeatGeek and make sure to use promo code NYPOST10 for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout if you’re a first-time SeatGeek user.

But Marsch, the former coach of the New York Red Bulls who briefly shooed away cameras as his team had one last huddle, remained firm in his devotion to the Canadian side that made history this World Cup.

“In terms of how we played, the match plan that we played, sticking to who we wanted to be — what an incredible performance,” Marsch said.