Jesse Marsch hopes Canada's memorable Copa America debut changes the trajectory of football in the country, as they look to cap their campaign with a bronze medal against Uruguay.
Canada's first appearance at the tournament saw them reach the semi-finals, a memorable penalty shoot-out victory over Venezuela teeing up a meeting with Argentina.
Marsch's team gave a solid account of themselves against the holders but were beaten 2-0 with Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi on target, sending them into Saturday's third-place play-off.
Marsch, who was only appointed a few weeks before the tournament began, hopes their campaign will be a catalyst for further improvement ahead of a home World Cup in 2026.
"We want to inspire the nation," Marsch said one day after Canada's semi-final defeat. "We want to develop the sport in this country.
"We want people to remember this as a moment in time that changed the trajectory of what this sport is in Canada.
"We're establishing things at some high levels. But in order to be a real team that can hold up to the biggest moments and biggest matches, there's more work to be done.
"Physically, mentally, intellectually, we've got to find a way to develop players faster."
Marsch added he will make changes to his lineup in North Carolina, with Alphonso Davies a doubt after he suffered an injury to his left foot.
Marsch will come up against his Leeds United predecessor Marcelo Bielsa on Saturday, after his much-fancied Uruguay side were beaten 1-0 by 10-man Colombia in their own semi-final.
Daniel Munoz was sent off on the stroke of half-time after Jefferson Lerma had headed Colombia into the lead, but Uruguay were outshot seven to six while a man up despite enjoying 73% of the possession.
Bielsa believes La Celeste would have been better off against a full complement, saying: "When they have 11, Colombia are a team that plays to play, and so are we.
"In that context, we created scoring chances and the ones we conceded were generated by some concessions from us.
"Eleven against eleven, for us, it was easier to attack, and we had to defend. In the second half, playing with an extra man, it was much more difficult to attack, and we practically didn't have to defend."
Uruguay's defeat was marred by scenes of crowd violence involving the families of some Celeste players at full-time, prompting CONMEBOL to open an investigation.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Canada – Jonathan David
Canada had 25 touches in Argentina's penalty area in their semi-final, 12 more than the world champions, yet they only managed five shots from inside the box to their opponents' seven.
If they are to cap a historic campaign with a medal, they may need David to make some of those openings count.
David has underperformed his expected goals figures at this tournament, netting once from chances valued at 1.58 xG. No Canada player has attempted more than his seven shots, three of which have hit the target.
Uruguay – Darwin Nunez
Nunez has attempted more shots (20) than any other player at this edition of the Copa America, with his total of 2.59 xG only bettered by Argentina's Lautaro Martinez (2.91).
While the Liverpool man has two goals to his name, they both came in the group stage, and he has only hit the target with five of his 20 attempts.
Among all players to net at this year's tournament, only three have a worse shot accuracy than Nunez's 33% (excluding blocks), but a profitable game here could even put him back in the race for the Golden Boot.
MATCH PREDICTION: URUGUAY WIN
Uruguay have participated in the third-place play-off at the Copa America on three previous occasions, beating Colombia 2-1 in 2004, drawing 2-2 with Honduras in 2001 (then losing on penalties) and suffering a 3-1 defeat to Mexico in 2007.
A victory in North Carolina would make this Uruguay's joint-second best Copa campaign of the 21st century, after they won the title in 2011.
They have only lost four of their 15 Copa America matches against Concacaf opponents, though they are winless in their last three such games in the knockout rounds, losing 3-1 to Mexico in the the 2007 third-place match, and drawing 2-2 with Honduras in the 2001 edition after losing 2-1 to Mexico in the semi-finals.
Canada are aiming to become the third Concacaf country to finish third in the competition after Mexico (1997, 1999 and 2007) and Honduras (2001).
A victory would make this the second-best campaign by a non-CONMEBOL Copa America debutant nation, after Mexico took silver on their 1993 bow. However, Marsch's men are big outsiders.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Canada – 13.2%
Uruguay – 70%
Draw – 16.8%
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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