Canada soccer coach Jesse Marsch waded into politics Wednesday, telling United States President Donald Trump to "lay off the ridiculous rhetoric about Canada being a 51st state."
The 51-year-old Marsch, a former U.S. international who was born in Racine, Wisc., made his comments at a CONCACAF news conference at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., the site of next month's CONCACAF Nations League Finals featuring Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Panama.
He was asked about the recent Four Nations Face-Off hockey final between Canada and the U.S. and, as an American coaching the Canadian men's team, how comfortable was he with "all this political stuff happening right now."
"As an American, I'm ashamed of the arrogance and disregard that we've shown one of our historically oldest, strongest and most loyal allies," Marsch said. "But one thing's for sure, when I look forward to a month from now, I know that this will fuel our team — the mentality we have, the will we have to play for our country, the desire we have to go after this tournament in every way and to show on and off the pitch exactly what Canadian character is."
"I guarantee you our team will be ready," he added.
WATCH | Marsch denounces '51st state' rhetoric:
Canadian men's soccer coach Marsch 'ashamed' about Trump's 51st state remarks
Canada, ranked 31st in the world, takes on No. 19 Mexico in one semifinal March 20 while the 16th-ranked U.S. faces No. 36 Panama in the other. The championship and third-place games will take place three days later.
"These international tournaments for Canada mean something different now," Marsch said. "And as an American, I'd like to address the 51st state discourse, which I find unsettling and frankly insulting."
"Canada's a
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