Clint Dempsey Responds to Jesse Marsch's National Anthem Remarks: “Worry About Your Own Team”

Clint Dempsey, who shares the record for the most goals in US men's national soccer team history, has expressed his disapproval of comments made by Canada’s head coach Jesse Marsch regarding American players and their rendition of the national anthem.

During a press briefing prior to Canada's World Cup opener—a match that ended in a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina—Marsch remarked on the pride of his Canadian squad, implying that U.S. players often needed encouragement to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Marsch, who previously served as an assistant coach for the USMNT, became the first American to lead the Canadian team two years ago.

“In the US sometimes we had to beg players to sing the national anthem,” Marsch stated, praising his team for their enthusiastic performances of the anthem. “These guys belt it out to the top of their lungs because they want to show the country how proud they are to be here, to be Canadians and to represent what Canada is.”

Dempsey, now working as an analyst for Fox Sports at the World Cup, didn’t hold back in his rebuttal. “He really said that?” Dempsey questioned during a pregame segment before Canada’s match. “Man, I can’t take this guy too seriously. It was an honor for me growing up to represent my country. When the national anthem happened, I wasn’t someone who normally would sing. I put my hand over my heart, and I’d pray to the good man upstairs.”

He added, “I’m not going to take advice from someone who switched to the other side and is singing another country’s national anthem. And as my boy [Thierry Henry] would say, stay in your own lane. It looks like he’s in a dang moped, so worry about your own team.”

After the 2022 World Cup, there was speculation that Marsch could succeed Gregg Berhalter as head coach of the USMNT, but the position was ultimately reawarded to Berhalter. Dempsey, who played in the 2010 World Cup, is tied with Landon Donovan for the most goals scored for the USMNT, each with 57 goals.