Canada coach Marsch sees many positives in Copa campaign but says more work needed

Seven games into his tenure as Canada head coach, Jesse Marsch sees plenty of positives.

"Incredible strides," he summed up. "But there's still a lot to do. We're establishing things at some high levels but in order to be a real team that can hold up to the biggest moments and biggest matches, there's more work to be done. But certainly, we're on a good path."

That path takes the team to Charlotte on Saturday for the Copa America third-place game against either No. 12 Colombia or No 14. Uruguay.

The 48th-ranked Canadians are looking for a podium finish in their first Copa America appearance after losing 2-0 to top-ranked Argentina in semifinal play Tuesday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Named Canada coach on May 13, Marsch landed in the deep end with friendlies against No. 2 France and the seventh-ranked Netherlands before facing Argentina (twice), No. 40 Peru, No. 31 Chile and No. 54 Venezuela.

The Canadian men have gone 1-3-3 against that opposition, with one of those draws turning into a penalty shootout win (over Venezuela in the Copa quarterfinal).

In contrast, John Herdman's first seven games as Canada coach after taking over in January 2018 were against No. 120 New Zealand, the 199th-ranked U.S. Virgin Islands, No. 177 Dominica, No. 133 St. Kitts and Nevis, unranked French Guiana and Martinique, and No. 18 Mexico (all rankings at the time of the matches).

Canada's current lack of clinical finishing is an issue, with just two goals in five Copa games. And March acknowledged Canada could have made life easier on itself -- and allowed him to go to his bench earlier and more often -- if it had scored more.

WATCH | Historic Canadian Copa America run ends with loss to Argentina:

"We have to do better