Clint Dempsey, the joint all-time leading scorer for the US men's national team, has criticised Canada coach Jesse Marsch after Marsch suggested that American players had to be urged to sing the national anthem. Marsch made the remarks ahead of Canada's World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Marsch said: 'In the US sometimes we had to beg players to sing the national anthem. These guys belt it out to the top of their lungs because they want to show the country how proud they are.' Dempsey, now a Fox Sports analyst at the World Cup, responded on a pregame show: 'Man, I can't take this guy too seriously. It was an honour for me growing up and represent my country.'
Dempsey, who scored 57 goals for the US and played at the 2010 World Cup when Marsch was an assistant coach, added: 'I'm not going to take advice from someone who switched to the other side and is singing another country's national anthem. As my boy [Thierry Henry] would say, stay in your own lane.' He also noted that he had 'bled for this country' and recovered from two heart procedures to play for the US.
Marsch, the first American to manage Canada, was considered a frontrunner for the US coaching job after the 2022 World Cup but was overlooked in favour of Gregg Berhalter. He has said he 'wasn't treated very well' by US Soccer during that process. The US opened their World Cup campaign against Paraguay on Friday, while Canada face Qatar on 18 June.
