By Daniel Akinte
“What a privilege our fans have had, to root a team on like this.
“Of course we have to be in these situations more and more, and then we have to find ways to succeed and we have to build from that. I’d rather be us than them. As good as Morocco is, I’d rather be us.
“I’m really proud of our guys, we went after the game, they’re hurting right now, but my goodness, right now I couldn’t be prouder.”
“It’s about in the biggest games, in the biggest moments, how much can we be ourselves, how much can we show belief, how much can we test the opponent.
“We had 11 incredible performances in the first half. We were unlucky not to get the lead, we should have had the lead, and then it’s the fine details. Morocco have quality, players that play at a big level. But in terms of how we played, what an incredible performance.
“On another day, maybe we get the lead and maybe we get the win. But the way we pushed, the way we were in the match, the quality we showed, the overall impact in the match. We were better. We were better than the No. 7 team in the world today.”
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi disagreed with Marsch’s assessment, saying the Atlas Lions deserved their place in the quarter-finals.
“In terms of intensity, Canada were good.
“Were they better? It’s hard to say. It takes some nerve to say that, when you lose 3-0.
“We were better than them in the second half.”
Reflecting on the victory, Ouahbi added:
“We are very happy. It’s a World Cup match and these are difficult games with teams playing for their lives.
“We reacted very well in the second half in the second balls and the duels.
“I have to recognise that Canada were impressive – they played a top match. It was no surprise for us but in the second half we were able to profit from the space they left us – that was the key.”
Canada captain Stephen Eustaquio thanked supporters and urged them to continue believing in the national team.
“We felt always the love back home from Canadians.
“We are finally a soccer country. We will enter another cycle of four years and the youngsters need your support for the next four years.”
Marsch also explained why captain Alphonso Davies missed the match.
“He had a hamstring injury that he was recovering from.
“He was on a very linear path until two days ago, and then he felt a little something.
“It turned out that it wasn’t anything significant, but he didn’t feel right and we didn’t want to stress it.”
