Colombia's Richard Ríos, left, and Canada's Ali Ahmed battle for the ball during the first half of a friendly match in Harrison, N.J., last month.Seth Wenig/The Associated Press
In the seemingly endless quest for that extra one per cent that can make or break a team’s chances of success, set pieces are very much in vogue once again across the soccer world, and the Canadian men’s national team is no exception.
No longer merely an opportunity to ‘get it in the mixer,’ as English soccer parlance used to describe launching the ball into the penalty area in the hopes of the most direct route to goal, well-worked free kick, corner and throw-in routines are now a crucial part of a team’s offensive arsenal.
Look no further than Arsenal – the top team in the English Premier League – which has been accused by its rivals of ruining the game owing to its so-called over-reliance on set pieces, with 12 of its 20 goals this season having arrived from dead-ball situations.
Not that Canadian men’s national team coach Jesse Marsch, who spent a year coaching Leeds United in the EPL, would care for such criticisms in the pursuit of victory.
“I’ve always loved set pieces,” he said Wednesday. “If you go back to my time, even in MLS in New York, we were one of the strongest set-piece teams. If you look at my teams that I coached in Europe, this was a big emphasis of what we’ve done.”
Friendly against Ecuador will provide a unique taste of what soccer in Canada can be
Canada’s recent results certainly back that up, with the team currently preparing to face Ecuador at Toronto’s BMO Field on Thursday, its 13th match of 2025. In the first 12, Canada scored six of its 20 goals from set pieces, and could easily have had a couple more, with Jonathan David missing a penalty at the Gold Cup and Luc de Fougerolles hitting the crossbar from a corner against Wales. Of course, that game was settled in memorable fashion by a stunning 25-yard free kick from Derek Cornelius.
It’s a far cry from how Marsch’s tenure started out, with the team tallying just one set-piece goal from the 14 it scored over his first 15 matches in charge. That’s when Marsch decided to hire Nicolas Gagnon, who formerly worked for Southampton in the EPL, to overhaul the team’s set-piece routines.
“One of the things that the set-piece coach said when he first came was, ‘When I watch you guys play in the run of play, I see the relentlessness and the commitment to the press into the counter press and the intensity,’” Marsch said. “’And I don’t see the same mentality when it comes to set pieces.’”
That all changed, and the head coach admits his players now show real commitment to getting on to the end of free kicks, such as when David outhustled the Romania defenders to get on the end of Ali Ahmed’s free kick to open the scoring in Bucharest back in September.
Canada's Jonathan David (10) shoots on goal while Australia goalkeeper Paul Izzo (12) defends during an international friendly in Montreal last month.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
“I think Ali, again, has done a really good job of working on his service, which I think is always maybe the most important aspect of what set pieces are,” Marsch said. “And so that’s given us a better chance, attacking-wise, to be dangerous.”
In a condensed tournament such as the World Cup, finding a way to exploit those fine margins can be the difference between an early exit or a deep run. One example from the somewhat recent past would be England at the 2018 tournament, with Gareth Southgate’s team scoring eight of its 12 goals from set pieces, paving the way for a run to the semi-finals in Russia.
Given Canada’s recent inability to find the net – the team was shut out in its past two games against Australia and Colombia last month – being able to import something from the training ground to live game situations may be beneficial. But it’s obviously preferable to get goals from open play, too.
With just one goal in 14 appearances since joining Juventus in the summer, David would dearly love to remind Canadians of his nose for the net on Thursday night against Ecuador. As the Canadian men’s national team record goal scorer, with 37 in 71 appearances, the Ottawa native could do with a goal or two in the red jersey of his national team to restore some confidence.
But Marsch isn’t about to worry about a player whose name is already pencilled in for the World Cup roster next June.
“Last window we spoke a little bit about his integration, and then also the things that I thought that he could do with us to continue to push himself and improve and what we’re doing,” the coach said. “But I think all of us who know Jonathan on the inside, they call him ‘the Iceman,’ right? There’s not a lot that fazes Johnny.”
And as Ahmed added, with players such as Tani Oluwaseyi, Cyle Larin, Promise David and Theo Bair also in the squad – all of whom play their club soccer in Europe – Canada’s offence is in good hands.
“We got some guys that can finish up top, including myself,” he said. “We know we’ve got to do a better job putting the ball in the net and finishing our chances. And just slowing down. We’ll get our chances. We might make mistakes. We might miss a few, but not let that deter us from coming again and finishing the next one.”