Canada's second Concacaf away game under Marsch is in Guatemala, who ousted them in 2025

Canada have been to the World Cup and back since the last time they played Guatemala for something that mattered, but Jesse Marsch has not forgotten that night. Friday's Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal first leg in Guatemala City is only the second game of his tenure played away from home in the wider Concacaf region, according to Canadian Soccer Daily, and it comes against the team that knocked Canada out of the 2025 Gold Cup.

The winner of the two-legged series goes to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in March 2027 and qualifies directly for the 2027 Gold Cup. The loser has to go through the Gold Cup preliminary round. The second leg is Monday at BMO Field in Toronto, and tonight's kickoff is 9 p.m. ET.

Canada got a bye to this stage as one of the region's four top-ranked teams, with Mexico, the United States and Panama. Guatemala earned their place by winning League A Group B, and this is the first time they have reached the quarterfinals. They topped the group on goal difference over Jamaica, helped by a 6-0 win over El Salvador in which William Fajardo scored a hat trick.

On paper this shouldn't be close. Sportsnet has Canada 27th in the FIFA rankings and Guatemala 95th, and Canada lead the all-time series with ten wins, three draws and three losses. But the last two competitive meetings went Guatemala's way or close to it. They drew in the group stage of the 2023 Gold Cup, and in the 2025 quarterfinal Canada took the lead through a Jonathan David penalty in the 30th minute before Jacob Shaffelburg recieved a red card and Rubio Rubín equalized. Guatemala won the shootout 6-5.

"We know what it's like to play against Guatemala," Marsch said this week. He also pointed to Canada's 1-0 win over them in an unofficial friendly in January.

The first leg is at the Estadio Manuel Felipe Carrera, known locally as El Trébol, a stadium with natural grass and stands right on top of the field. Guatemalan players asked to play there rather than on the artificial turf at Cementos Progreso, according to Guatefutbol.

"At elevation, I think that we need to put a really fit and strong team out to start and know that it's gonna be combative with Guatemala," Marsch told reporters on a Thursday night Zoom call.

Cyle Larin is out injured, and Marsch made it clear who is likely to play next to David. "The performances that Tani's had recently with Villarreal and some of the goals and all, that he shows up with a lot of confidence. There's a high likelihood that we use him for major minutes tomorrow," he said of Tani Oluwaseyi, who has scored against Napoli and Liverpool in the Champions League this season. Captain Alphonso Davies is also back in the squad.

A draw away from home would leave Canada in control going into Toronto. A loss would turn Monday into the kind of pressure night Marsch's team has rarely faced, against an opponent that has already shown it doesn't scare easily.