Canada’s squad announced, with recovering Alphonso Davies and high-scoring Jonathan David included as expected

TORONTO – Alphonso Davies will play for Canada at the World Cup, the final squad announcement showed on May 29, relieving the nation’s fears that the injured captain would not recover in time.

The televised announcement of the 26-man team contained few surprises.

As expected, Bayern Munich’s Davies is included in the squad, as are other prominent players like Jonathan David of Juventus.

“We really think this is our strongest group,” said coach Jesse Marsch. Injuries have plagued the Canada team, but a number of recovering players have been selected by the American.

Much of the chatter around the announcement had been about Davies, who went off with a hamstring injury in the second leg of Bayern’s Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain on May 6.

Marsch said the 25-year-old would join the rest of the team in Edmonton on May 31, allowing time for his injury to heal. His teammates spent this week training in Charlotte, North Carolina, while he has been training separately, the coach added.

Also named despite injury doubts were OCC Nice defender Moise Bombito, Norwich City’s Ali Ahmed, Los Angeles FC winger Jacob Shaffelburg and Promise David of Union Saint-Gilloise.

Union SG’s 24-year-old striker was injured on Feb 21 while playing for the Belgian Pro League side and was told recovery would take six months.

“I did not think it was possible. I’m not going to lie,” he said to TSN. “When I had to opt in for the decision to get the surgery... they told me, ‘We don’t see people come back from this quickly as they should’. I kind of gave up.”

Then he got an encouraging call from Marsch.

“He said, ‘We’re going to give you as much time as you need. You’ll be fine’,” David said. “I was like, ‘If he’s banking on me, there’s no reason I shouldn’t bank on myself’.”

Marsch has struggled with choosing his starting goalkeeper, acknowledging he feels “tormented” in picking between Maxime Crepeau of Orlando City and Inter Miami’s Dayne St Clair.

The two custodians are friends and joked about how they are handling the stress of the selection process.

“We’re gonna play rock-paper-scissors,” St Clair told TSN, regarding who gets to start.

Davies is an exception to the general anonymity of football players to most Canadians, who largely favour ice hockey, American football, basketball and baseball. The Bayern full-back is known to millions, gathering swarms of fans at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He also has a large following in Canada, particularly with its millions of citizens of Italian and Haitian descent.

One popular player from the 2022 squad is not included this time round – Junior Hoilett. The long-time Canada international has slowed as he turns 36 on June 5, and Marsch is known to emphasise speed.

The American is a prominent coach, having been in charge of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in 2021 and Leeds United in the English Premier League from 2022 to 2023, as well as winning multiple honours in Major League Soccer (MLS), both as a coach and a player.

Marsch said he wished injuries were not the focus of questions about his team’s prospects, saying his selection of players is the best the country has ever had.

“Guys are getting healthy,” he said.

Football has become a much more popular spectator sport in Canada in recent years, with the English and Spanish leagues becoming widely followed, its domestic league gaining traction and MLS seeing strong fan support.

Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B at the June 11-July 19 World Cup. REUTERS

Canada squad:

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau (Orlando City), Owen Goodman (Barnsley, on loan from Crystal Palace), and Dayne St Clair (Inter Miami)

Defenders: Moise Bombito (OGC Nice), Derek Cornelius (Marseille), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich),  Luc de Fougerolles (Fulham), Alistair Johnston (Celtic), Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC), Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split) and Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire)

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed (Norwich City), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal), Mathieu Choiniere (Los Angeles FC), Stephen Eustaquio (FC Porto), Marcelo Flores (Tigres UANL), Ismael Kone (Sassuolo), Liam Millar (Hull City), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht) and Jacob Shaffelburg (Los Angeles FC).

Forwards: Jonathan David (Juventus), Promise David (Union Saint-Gilloise), Cyle Larin (Mallorca), and Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal).