Ex-Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch demands Argentina punishment after Canada Copa America defeat

Jesse Marsch insists Argentina should be fined for delaying the second-half of their 2-0 Copa America win over the former Leeds United manager’s Canada team.

Marsch took charge of his first competitive game in more than a year overnight, having been out of work since being sacked by Leeds in February 2023. The 50-year-old is now head coach of the Canadian national team and kicked off this summer’s Copa America against world champions Argentina in Atlanta.

Having kept the South American giants quiet in a goalless first-half, Canada conceded twice after the break through Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez, with Argentina looking far more dangerous. But it was the length of that break that irked Marsch, with Lionel Scaloni’s side emerging significantly later than the 15 minute limit allows - a delay that football confederation CONMEBOL are looking into.

“When they were waiting, I knew that they were looking at video and they were analysing how they wanted to play against us,” a frustrated Marsch said after the defeat. “Now, I wish again, the referees would manage that. If we were five minutes late, we’d get a fine. There’d be a big problem. Let’s see what happens with Argentina. I think they have to be fined.

“How late were they? 20 minutes? 30? I don’t know. It was a long time. But they had that time to prepare how they wanted to play against us in the second half, which if we would have known ahead of time that we could have an extra 10 minutes then we could have prepared some things more.

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“But in the end, I just made sure that the players knew that they were going to come out with a new plan and they basically rotated a little bit more to three, but we still dealt with it. Argentina should be fined. OK? Fined. Write that. Olé. La Nacion. They should be fined for coming out 20 minutes late for the second half.”

While Marsch believes the extended break made a difference to the game, both Argentina goals finally came once Lionel Messi kicked into gear and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner set up both Alvarez and Martinez with some decisive play. On reflection, Marsch was proud of the way his side defended for large parts but cursed the ability of Messi to unlock even the tightest of units.

“We talked a lot about our compactness and then identifying the spaces that Messi likes to show up,” the former Whites boss added. “We talked about not diving in because it's hard to win tackles from him and what happens is if you eliminate yourself or if you start diving in for tackles, he's really good slipping and moving and getting back again and making little final plays.

“This is what I say about Messi. I've coached against him several times and I feel like we've had a good match plan and we've executed a lot of good things. He's so good, he's that good that he still makes plays. The two balls he makes on the two goals I think are world class. Amazing, it's awful. It's amazing.”