Men's soccer coach Marsch ready to lead Canadian program into new chapter following drone scandal

At the end of a dark week for Canada Soccer, it's up to the men's national team to provide a little light.

Canada plays Suriname away on Friday (6 p.m. ET) in the first leg of its CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal matchup, with the return leg slated for Nov. 19 at BMO Field in Toronto.

The on-field action is the first since the women's team — normally the jewel of the national program — saw head coach Bev Priestman let go earlier this week after a damning report on the 2024 Paris Olympics drone scandal was returned by an independent investigator.

Speaking from Paramaribo on Thursday, Jesse Marsch, the men's head coach, expressed relief that the long-awaited report had come out.

"I look at it as an opportunity now for us to really start to put that in the background and move forward in a way where we can only be thinking about positive things," he said.

Marsch and his side can begin that turn by claiming the games in front of them. The winner of the home-and-away series will earn two significant prizes: a Nations League semifinal berth in Los Angeles in March, and automatic entry to the 2025 Gold Cup in June.

"We're excited for the challenge," Marsch said of teams that have met only twice in their shared histories, the last a 4-0 win for Canada during World Cup qualifying in 2021.

"We've played a lot of, since I've been here, big opponents and familiar opponents," he said. "Now we have one that's a little unfamiliar."

Suriname will not need to worry about being found out, at least by drones.

WATCH | Bev Priestman out as women's national coach: 

Bev Priestman out as women’s head soccer coach after drone-spying scandal

The report cleared Marsch of any suspicions of continuing Canada's previously unchecked spying