Marsch says Canada needs greatest performance yet
Canada must produce the performance of its life to have any chance of upsetting Argentina to reach the Copa America final, coach Jesse Marsch said.
Marsch's team will face the defending World Cup champion for a final berth at the MetLife Stadium, having overcome Venezuela in a penalty shoot-out in the last eight.
Canada is just the fourth CONCACAF team to reach the Copa semi-finals and the third to do so on its debut, after Mexico (1993 runner-up), Honduras (third in 2001) and United States (third in 1995).
It faces the sternest of tests next up, however, having already lost to Lionel Messi and the rest of Argentina's stars in its opening group-stage game.
Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez were on target in that match as Lionel Scaloni's team triumphed 2-0 in Atlanta, rifling off 19 shots worth 3.02 expected goals (xG) to Canada's 10 (1.16 xG).
While Canada hase won plenty of admirers on its run to the last four, Marsch knows it needs to step up further on Wednesday.
"Argentina will have to be the best match we've ever played and it still might not be enough," he said. "But whatever. We're going to go for it."
Captain Alphonso Davies echoed those sentiments but pointed out Canada had given Argentina a scare in their earlier game, saying: "It's going to take everything. We played them in the group stage and we played well but didn't get the win we wanted."
Argentina boss Scaloni hit out at the quality of the pitch after that earlier meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Messi says the surfaces have had an impact throughout the tournament.
"The pitch always has an influence. It's a reality that the pitches aren't good," Messi ssaid. "I think the best one was the one in Miami, which was good from what you saw from the outside at least. It's natural and that's already different. Of course, it has an influence."