Canadian men's soccer coach Marsch pleased by early signs from initial national team camp

Jesse Marsch likes what he's seen at his first camp in charge of the Canadian men's soccer team.

"All the things that I felt about the team and the optimism I have had has been exceeded by the work that's been done," Marsch said Wednesday in Rotterdam. "And I think a lot of that comes down to not just the quality and the talent in the team but the quality of the character."

Marsch cited the players' selflessness and "drive to be successful as a group."

The 50-year-old American makes his debut as coach of the 49th-ranked Canadians on Thursday in a high-profile friendly with the seventh-ranked Dutch at Stadion Feijenoord before facing No. 2 France in Bordeaux on Sunday.

"The eagerness and the excitement to do what we can to show our country and represent our country means everyone is on high attention span and alert to try and come together to learn, adapt and grow"<br><br>Jesse Marsch on first impressions of working with the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CanMNT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CanMNT</a>