Canada head coach Jesse Marsch believes captain Alphonso Davies will play in the World Cup, although it’s unlikely he’ll be ready for the team’s opener because of injury.
Davies injured his hamstring earlier this month while playing for Bayern Munich. Marsch included Davies on Monday on the team’s latest 32-player training camp roster, but he will not join the team until the end of the month to allow him to continue his rehab with the German club.
“Bayern has put him through certain protocols that they can do in Germany that they can’t do in North America. So that’s one of the reasons why he stayed in Germany, because we think they have some advanced techniques in terms of the treatments that he can get, so we think that that’s been good,” Marsch said.
“They also are very supportive, and they want to see him play in the World Cup. I think that they understand that supporting their players for both club and country is important.”
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 23: Alphonso Davies (L) of Canada, Christian Pulisic (C) of United States and Katia Itzel Garcia (R) central referee gesture prior to the CONCACAF Nations League third place match between United States and Canada at SoFi Stadium on March 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Eliecer Aizprua Banfield/Jam Media/Getty Images)
Canada is training this week in Charlotte, North Carolina, ahead of a pair of final preparation matches against Uzbekistan on June 1 in Edmonton and against Ireland on June 5 in Montreal.
“Alfonso will be here on the 31st in Edmonton. So we spoke with Bayern and thought that the best thing for him was to continue his initial recovery treatment until the 28th, then we’re giving him a few days to get away, and then he’ll be joining us the 31st and we’ll pick up his rehab from there, and try to put him in a position to physically succeed and to be part of our team,” Marsch said.
Canada is scheduled to announce its 26-player World Cup squad on Friday. The tournament, co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, begins on June 11. Canada’s opening match is against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12.
Davies, 25, was hurt during Bayern Munich’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinals. He has played in 58 matches for Canada with 15 goals.
“Yes, I think Alphonso will play in the World Cup,” Marsch said. “No, I don’t think he’ll be ready quite on June 12. But we’ll see.”
2026 FIFA World Cup: How To Watch
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports app. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19).
The opening match on June 11 between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m. ET) will stream for free on Tubi, as well as the USA’s opening match against Paraguay on June 12 (9 p.m. ET).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
