Canada coach Jesse Marsch finalized his 26-man roster for the FIFA World Cup on Friday, two weeks before the tournament opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Canada coach Jesse Marsch has shown faith in his players’ healing powers in naming his 26-man World Cup roster.
The 30th-ranked Canadian men have been plagued by injury in the lead-up to their June 12 tournament opener against No. 65 Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto. That prompted Marsch to delay his roster announcement to Friday evening, just ahead of Monday’s FIFA deadline.
Captain Alphonso Davies, defenders Moise Bombito, Alfie Jones and Richie Laryea, midfielders Ali Ahmed and Jacob Shaffelburg and forward Promise (Tobi) David are all returning from injury.
Defenders Alistair Johnston and Derek Cornelius and winger Liam Millar missed large chunks of their club seasons due to injury. While Johnston and Millar are both back playing with Glasgow Celtic and Hull FC, respectively, Cornelius, on a season-long loan from Olympique Marseille, has been largely ignored by Scotland’s Rangers FC since his return.
Defender Luc de Fougerolles spent time out as he went through concussion protocol. Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio had to deal with a hematoma after suffering a leg knock in a collision with Canadian referee Drew Fischer.
Canada wraps up its pre-tournament schedule with games Monday against No. 50 Uzbekistan in Edmonton and No. 59 Ireland next Friday in Montreal.
There were few surprises in the roster reveal, as expected with Marsch sounding confident in recent days about the status of his injured players. Forward Daniel Jebbison misses out, with Marsch saying he opted for an extra defender given the injuries on the backline.
Centre back Derek Cornelius, far left, dealt with injury this season but may be called on to help anchor the Canadian defence.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The speedy Shaffelburg, recovering from a recent hamstring injury after undergoing January groin surgery, makes the roster despite being in rehabilitation mode this week at camp in Charlotte, N.C.
“He’s progressed faster than we thought,” Marsch said. “And Jacob has a pretty good track record, from when he gets hamstring injuries, of returning pretty quickly.”
There are still questions to be answered, however.
Foremost among them is when Davies will be ready to play. The star fullback has been sidelined since hurting his hamstring May 6 in Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Marsch has said Davies is unlikely to be ready for the Bosnia game. And he likely won’t be the only one.
“Will everyone be 100 per cent for the Bosnia match? No, that won’t be the case but we will have a really strong core that will be ready for that match and we believe we can get stronger as the tournament goes on,” said Marsch.
After Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada heads to Vancouver to continue Group B play against No. 55 Qatar on June 18 and No. 19 Switzerland on June 24.
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Davies has seen just 102 minutes of action for Canada since the start of 2025, missing out on 14 national team matches.
The 25-year-old last played for Canada in March, 2025, when he exited the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game against the U.S. in the 12th minute with an injury. He subsequently underwent surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament and was sidelined until December.
Teams have until 24 hours before their opening match to replace an outfield player sustaining a serious injury or illness. After that the roster is fixed, although a goalkeeper who meets that threshold can be replaced at any time during the tournament.
Davies and winger Marcelo Flores missed the Canadian camp this week for different reasons.
Allowed to continue his injury rehab in Germany, Davies is scheduled to join the Canadian team in his hometown of Edmonton on Sunday.
Flores will link up with the squad after his club side, Tigres UANL, takes on Toluca in Saturday’s all-Mexican CONCACAF Champions Cup final in Mexico City.
Marsch also has yet to name his starting goalkeeper for the tournament, saying diplomatically that he can’t go wrong with either Maxime Crepeau or Dayne St. Clair.
The coach was true to his word in choosing a young ‘keeper for the No. 3 role, selecting 22-year-old Owen Goodman, who has yet to win a senior cap.
Jonathan David will lead the Canadian attack at the tournament, likely alongside Cyle Larin. The only other forwards named are Tani Oluwaseyi and Promise David, who is on the comeback trail from February hip surgery.
Forward Jonathan David, seen dribbling at training camp in Charlotte, N.C., this week, is Canada's best pure scorer.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Marsch can use Flores, Millar and Jonathan Osorio in more forward positions.
Whoever starts, Canada needs to up its attack.
Marsch’s team has scored 12 goals in its last 11 outings, with nine of those coming in four matches – victories over Romania (3-0), El Salvador and Venezuela (both 2-0) and a draw with Iceland (2-2).
The Canadian men were blanked in four of those matches, three of which finished as scoreless draws.
On the plus side, Canada only lost twice during that stretch (4-1-6, with one of the draws turning into a penalty shootout loss). And the opposition only scored five goals during those 11 matches.
When healthy, Johnston has been a fixture at right fullback with Davies on the left. The preferred centre back pairing has been Bombito, who anchors the backline, and Cornelius.
But with Cornelius lacking game minutes, Jones could step up if healthy. The 28-year-old English-born centre back has just one cap for Canada but has impressed on and off the field since gaining his citizenship in November.
Eustaquio and Ismaël Koné are expected to start in central midfield with Eustaquio, the vice-captain, serving as skipper until Davies is ready to play.
Both are key to Canada’s success. The reliable Eustaquio powers the midfield engine while Koné is a potential game-breaker.
Tajon Buchanan is a lock at right wing with Ahmed, Millar, Flores and Shaffelburg all options on the left. Marsch could also push a healthy Davies further up the field in order to get Laryea a start at left back.
Dynamic winger Tajon Buchanan is one of 13 returning players from Canada's 2022 World Cup squad.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Laryea, who adds grit to the team wherever he lines up, can also play in the midfield. He was in fine form before being sidelined by a thigh injury.
The tournament games are the first competitive matches for Canada since last summer’s Gold Cup. As co-host, the Canadian men did not have to qualify, so they have played a steady diet of friendlies outside of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Nations League and Copa America.
The goal is to win their group, which would allow the Canadians to remain in Vancouver for a July 2 round-of-32 match against a third-place team from another group.
Thanks to a generous schedule for the co-hosts, Canada will stay in Vancouver if it survives the round-of-32 with a July 7 round-of-16 matchup – possibly against the winner of Group K (either No. 5 Portugal, No. 13 Colombia, No. 46 Democratic Republic of the Congo or No. 50 Uzbekistan).
The Canadian men have yet to post a World Cup win in two visits to the tournament. The first was in 1986 when the team failed to score in losses to France, Hungary and the Soviet Union.
Canada lost to Belgium (1-0), Croatia (4-1) and Morocco (2-1) four years ago in Qatar, though Davies scored Canada’s first goal at the tournament in the Croatia match. Canada’s other score came courtesy of a Moroccan own goal.
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Others missing out from the 32-man Charlotte camp roster are defenders Zorhan Bassong, Jamie Knight-Lebel and Ralph Priso, midfielder Jayden Nelson and forward Jacen Russell-Rowe.
Bassong, Priso and Nelson will remain with the team for next week’s friendlies to help make up the numbers as other players continue their return to play from injury.
The World Cup roster includes 13 members of the 2022 tournament squad: Davies, Buchanan, Cornelius, Jonathan David, Eustaquio, Johnston, Koné, Larin, Laryea, Millar, Osorio, St. Clair and Joel Waterman.
Crepeau missed the 2022 World Cup with a broken leg.
De Fougerolles is the youngest player at 20 and Osorio is the oldest at 33. The average age is 25. Skewing young is conducive to playing Marsch’s hard-pressing style.
Canada’s World Cup roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Orlando City SC (MLS); Owen Goodman, Crystal Palace (England); Dayne St. Clair, Inter Miami FC (MLS)
Defenders: Moïse Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Derek Cornelius, Olympique de Marseille (France); Alphonso Davies (capt.), Bayern Munich (Germany); Luc de Fougerolles, Fulham (England); Alistair Johnston, Glasgow Celtic (Scotland); Alfie Jones, Middlesbrough (England); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hajduk Split (Croatia); Joel Waterman, Chicago Fire (MLS)
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed, Norwich City (England); Tajon Buchanan, Villarreal CF (Spain); Mathieu Choiniere, Los Angeles FC (MLS); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Marcelo Flores, Tigres UANL (Mexico); Ismaël Koné, U.S. Sassuolo Calcio (Italy); Liam Millar, Hull City (England); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Nathan Saliba, Anderlecht (Belgium); Jacob Shaffelburg, Los Angeles FC (MLS)
Forwards: Jonathan David, Juventus (Italy); Promise David, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Villarreal CF (Spain)