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Canada's American head coach Jesse Marsch once again made his passionate feelings clear when speaking about his home country, citing the perceived sense of entitlement surrounding the Folarin Balogun World Cup controversy as a textbook example of "why everyone around the world hates America."
Marsch had been considered a frontrunner to take charge of the U.S. men's national team (USMNT), which he represented twice as a player, before Mauricio Pochettino was unexpectedly named in the role in 2024. The former Leeds United manager would soon shift his focus to the top position with Canada, guiding his adopted country to its finest-ever showing at a men's World Cup during the summer.
The USMNT would bow out of the tournament held across North America in the same round of 16 as Canada, though under vastly different circumstances. While Marsch's squad was simply outclassed in a 3–0 defeat to Morocco, the U.S.'s collapse against Belgium unfolded against a backdrop of intense controversy fueled by Balogun's participation.
An extraordinary FIFA ruling, bolstered by a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump, saw Balogun's red card suspension lifted for reasons that remain unexplained. Global outrage followed the decision, while Belgium channeled it as added fuel ahead of a dominant 4–1 victory. Marsch contended that this was merely one illustration of a national characteristic that, in his own words, "infuriates the rest of the world."
'We Americans Have Been Inundated With Propaganda Since We Were Young'
"My reaction when the Balogun ruling came down was that something like that would never happen in any other country on earth," Marsch told The Guardian, "and that is exactly why everyone around the world hates America."
"We, as Americans, have been fed propaganda from the time we were children," the former midfielder from Wisconsin stated. "We're the No. 1 country in the world, we deserve everything, we dominate everything, No. 1 in every aspect of life. That's the message we've always received.
"So, when things happen and we don't feel like we're in control of it ... we feel like we deserve to be treated differently because we're Americans. That is one of the things that infuriates the rest of the world about Americans. And Americans don't realize that if they never leave the country."
Marsch spent his college and professional playing career entirely within the U.S. before venturing overseas as a coach. Managerial stints in Canada, Austria, Germany, and England have given the former USMNT assistant a broad, and frequently unflattering, perspective on his homeland.
"The U.S. had been having a solid World Cup, things were going well," he reflected on the Balogun decision. "All of that changed in a single moment."
'No U.S. President Would Support Everton'
Marsch has rarely concealed his contempt for President Trump, taking particular exception to his labeling of Canada as the "51st state." The Canada boss appears considerably warmer toward Mark Carney, Trump's Canadian counterpart, with the Prime Minister's allegiance to a mid-table Premier League side earning him extra points.
"I heard you're an Everton supporter?" Marsch asked Carney upon their first encounter. Upon receiving confirmation, he fired back with a grin: "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Marsch recalled Carney replying. "Everyone has to choose their club and stand by them."
The former U.S. international "appreciated" that sense of loyalty. "There's something so genuine about that," he explained. "Could a U.S. President ever be an Everton fan? Not a chance."
Drawing a further comparison between Carney and the American heads of state he has encountered, Marsch revealed: "Carney, compared to all of them, the closest would be [Barack] Obama. A real sense of intelligence, but also a real sense of being an ordinary person. I think that's exactly what this country and this moment calls for." Obama, however, lacks the added distinction of rooting for the Toffees.