Internet reacts to Canada coach Jesse Marsch's viral FIFA World Cup dance move
The Canadian men’s national team won its first-ever FIFA World Cup game on Thursday with a six-goal thrashing of Qatar, but the most viral moment of the game became an unhinged sideline celebration from Canada’s head coach, Jesse Marsch.
After Tajon Buchanan was fouled in the Qatar penalty area midway through the first half, Marsch could not control his emotion, charging down the touchline and breaking into what can only be described as an interpretive dance.
The 52-year-old sliced the air with his arms, shuffled his feet, and appeared to be signalling for a penalty all at the same time.
Canada coach Jesse Marsch just gave us the best meme of the World Cup so far
— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) June 19, 2026
We’ve watched the clip dozens of times and still aren’t entirely sure what Marsch was trying to do, nor is the internet.
“This is now the GIF of the entire tournament. Don’t @ me,” one fan wrote. “We really need to give him an award for this meme.”
“God forbid a white boy get a lil motion,” joked another.
One fan even suggested that Canada should replace the “Charlie Brown” lyric in the “Cha-Cha Slide” with Marsch’s new move.
Others compared the move to a deli worker slicing black forest ham, while some suggested the Princeton alum was just letting his Ivy League side shine.
Not everyone was a fan of Marsch’s antics, though.
An Irish TV analyst, Alan Caw of RTÉ Sport, was extremely critical of Marsch’s in-game celebrations, calling his behaviour “nonsense.”
“Have a bit of class and decorum, it’s only the second group game of the tournament,” Caw said. “Just put a lid on it, and cool the jets a little bit.”
Irish soccer analyst @alancaw with @RTEsport had some harsh words for Canada’s coach Jesse Marsch following their thrashing 6-0 win against 🇶🇦.
“Have a bit of class, it’s only the second group game of the tournament. Put a lid on it. It’s nonsense.”pic.twitter.com/HlZrTXTgaR
— Marley Dickinson (@marleydickinson) June 19, 2026
Marsch alluded to his fiery celebrations a bit post-game, saying the win was not a normal moment for the country.
“We need to celebrate the success,” said Marsch. “Big moments like this don’t come easy. It was an important moment for the sport in this country.”
Before Thursday, Canada’s men’s national team had never won a FIFA World Cup match, and had never even scored more than one goal in a game at the tournament.
The beatdown of Qatar sets Canada up extremely well to advance into the Round of 32 on goal differential, though their next opponent will depend on the final Group B game against Switzerland.
Both teams currently sit at four points after two matches, but Canada has the edge on goal differential, the tiebreaker.
Canada can finish at the top of Group B with a win or a draw over the Swiss side.
That game will take place in Vancouver again next Wednesday, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. EDT/noon PDT.