CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The head coach who took Canada’s men’s national team to their highest FIFA ranking yet and a Copa America semifinal is sticking around.Jesse Marsch has signed an extension with Canada Soccer, keeping him as head coach through the 2030 World Cup. Marsch’s original contract was set to expire at the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup.Marsch’s two-year tenure with Canada has been a success. He has coached 29 games for Canada and has 14 wins, seven draws and eight losses.“I believe Canada has tremendous potential with this generation of players and look forward to seeing the development of soccer across the country. I’m thrilled to make a longer-term commitment here, to helping develop this program for years, and continuing to push this group to the highest level,” Marsch said.Under Marsch, Canada’s approach has been revamped. They have developed a clear tactical identity, playing the kind of full-throttle, pressing soccer that Marsch became known for as a head coach with Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and Leeds United, among other teams.Marsch, 52, previously served as an assistant coach with the United States during the 2010 World Cup. He is now just weeks away from taking Canada into its third-ever World Cup.Marsch has been lofty with his ambitions for the team, publicly stating that it is the team’s goal to win Canada’s group and therefore stay in Vancouver for the team’s Round of 32 game. That sort of ambition has been seen internally as a shot in the arm that a fledgling Canada program needed in 2023 when former coach John Herdman stepped aside.“Canada needed fresh energy,” former Canada international and current New York Red Bulls Head of Sport Julian de Guzman recently told The Athletic. De Guzman was part of Canada Soccer’s hiring committee in 2024. “They needed this push to say ‘Let’s go for it,’ and a leader and somebody who just brings the energy and somebody who brings the group to life again.”Marsch interviewed with US Soccer for their vacant head coach position in 2023.“All I’d say is that it was made very clear to me by U.S. Soccer that I was going to be the (US men’s national team) coach, and then it was made very clear to me that I was not,” Marsch said this year. “At the time, I was devastated and angry, but now I am thankful and really happy to be where I’m at.”Marsch is a relentless and gregarious coach who has formed close relationships with many players. And Canada has since adopted an intensity in training sessions and games that currently makes it the 30th-ranked team in the world according to FIFA’s rankings.What Marsch does not have yet is a World Cup win with Canada. In Canada’s two previous World Cups, including in 2022 in Qatar, they lost all three of their group stage games. Ultimately, it will be this World Cup that Marsch will be judged on.Canada Soccer ultimately decided that even without the results from a World Cup, it was best to extend Marsch now to provide stability within the team. While it is likely that other international teams, such as the United States with Mauricio Pochettino, will lose their head coach immediately after the World Cup, Marsch’s extension is a sign that his plans for Canadian soccer development go beyond the World Cup.Canada Soccer has been wildly impressed by the work Marsch has done that goes beyond the standard responsibilities of a men’s team head coach. Marsch regularly visits local clubs to help instill his brand of soccer. He is working to create a more defined development pathway for young players. The energy he brings to the job, specifically with on-the-ground engagements, suggests he can have a longstanding influence on Canadian soccer. That influence is one Canada Soccer wanted to maintain.And for Marsch, he has routinely spoken about how much he enjoys working with Canadian players.“I don’t want to be judged by wins and losses,” Marsch told The Athletic in 2025. “I want to be judged by creating something. And so this is what I’ve done with the national team. I want to show that I love these boys and I want them to show how good they are.”With Marsch staying in Canada regardless of the results he and the national team earn at the World Cup, it is clear that he is only beginning his job of revamping Canadian soccer.“I want to be here longer because I enjoy the job, the players and the people in the country, and I think the association thinks the task of what needs to be done is longer than just two years,” Marsch said in 2025. “And to do it effectively, I need to commit to it longer.”