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Canada head coach Jesse Marsch believes captain Alphonso Davies will play at the World Cup, although he is unlikely to be ready for the team’s opening match due to injury.
Davies injured his hamstring earlier this month while playing for Bayern Munich. Marsch included Mandag Davies on the team’s latest 32-man training camp roster, but he will not join the team until the end of the month to allow him to continue his rehabilitation with the German club.
“Bayern 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 he can get, so we think it’s been good,” Marsch said.
“They are also very supportive and they want to see him play in the World Cup. I think they understand that it is important to support their players for both club and country.”
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 23: Alphonso Davies (L) of Canada, Christian Pulisic (C) of USA and Katia Itzel Garcia (R) center referee gesture prior to the CONCACAF Nations League third place match between USA 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 warm-up games against Uzbekistan on June 1 in Edmonton and Ireland on June 5 in Montreal.
“Alfonso will be here on the 31st in Edmonton. So we talked to Bayern and thought the best thing for him was to continue his initial rehab until the 28th, then we’ll give him a few days to get away and then he’ll join us on the 31st and we’ll pick up his rehab from there and try to put him in a position to be part of our team and physically succeed,” Marsch said.
Canada is scheduled to announce its 26-player World Cup squad on Friday. The tournament, 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 injured during Bayern Munich’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final. He has played in 58 games for Canada with 15 goals.
“Yes, I think Alphonso will play in the World Cup,” said Marsch. “No, I don’t think he’ll be completely ready on June 12th. But we’ll see.”
2026 FIFA World Cup: How to watch
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Spread over three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament games will be broadcast live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every game streaming live and on-demand on both FOX One and the FOX Sports app. A record 40 games, more than a third of the tournament, are televised in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19).
The June 11 opener between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m. ET) will stream for free on Tubi, as will the USA’s June 12 opener against Paraguay (9 p.m. ET).
