VANCOUVER, June 24 (Reuters) - Canada coach Jesse Marsch said his side must quickly learn how to handle high-quality opposition after a 2-1 loss to Switzerland on Wednesday cost them a chance to play their knockout round game on home soil.
Canada, needing only a draw to top Group B and secure a round-of-32 clash in Vancouver, started sluggishly against the Swiss and paid the price, conceding twice in the second half before a late rally fell short.
"Switzerland is a very good team, a very experienced
team, a very intelligent team, and I think that showed today," Marsch told reporters.
"We need to continue to understand how to handle those kinds of opponents, how to handle those kinds of games, and we got to do it quickly because we're going to be in the knockout phase, which is exactly where we wanted to be."
Ruben Vargas broke the deadlock 40 seconds into the second half with a fierce low shot past goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, before Johan Manzambi fired home his third goal of the tournament to silence the red-clad crowd at BC Place.
CANADA'S DAVID SCORES WITH FIRST TOUCH
Canada finally stirred when Marsch turned to his bench. Promise David scored with his first touch after Nathan Saliba diverted a cross back in his direction, and Alistair Johnston nearly levelled with a back-post header in stoppage time. It was not enough, however, and Canada's winless run against European opposition at the World Cup stretched to seven matches.
Marsch pointed to a tendency to tighten up in big moments as the key issue.
"Everything that we work on and work through is about really being aggressive and using our athleticism and our team speed," he said. "The only thing that I feel is that when the occasion is momentous, players get a little tighter and their natural reaction is to hold back a little bit more, instead of going for it more."
Canada must now travel to Los Angeles for their round-of-32 clash, far from the comforts of home soil where they played all three group matches.
Marsch was determined to keep the mood positive.
"We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to push for the next match and find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it'll be from Los Angeles," he said.
"We came up a little short, and that's unfortunate," Marsch added. "But we're in the knockout round, and we're going to make sure that we're up for it better."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
