Canadian men's national team coach Jesse Marsch will name his World Cup roster this week while assessing injuries to numerous players in the team's training camp in North Carolina.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Asked about his team’s injury situation with the World Cup looming, Canada coach Jesse Marsch paused.
“How much time do we have?” he asked dryly.
With Canada set to announce its 26-man tournament roster on Friday, there are plenty of questions still to be answered.
Marsch says captain Alphonso Davies will play at the tournament. The question is when.
“I don’t think he’ll be ready quite on June 12, but we’ll see,” the coach said when pressed on the matter, referencing Canada’s opening match at the tournament against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto.
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Davies has been sidelined since hurting his hamstring May 6 in Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Marsch says Davies will continue his injury rehab with Bayern through Thursday and then have a couple of days off before joining the Canadian team Sunday in Edmonton.
The 25-year-old star fullback last played for Canada on March 23, 2025, when a leg injury forced him out early in CONCACAF Nations League play against the U.S.
Marsch’s list of walking wounded and players returning from injury is extensive. It also includes Promise David, Moïse Bombito, Alfie Jones, Ali Ahmed, Jacob Shaffelburg, Ralph Priso, Luc de Fougerolles, Derek Cornelius and Alistair Johnston.
Canada defender Alphonso Davies injured his hamstring in a game with Bayern Munich on April 6. Coach Jesse Marsch doesn't think Davies will be ready to play for Canada's World Cup opener on June 12 in Toronto.Tony Gutierrez/The Associated Press
The injuries prompted Canada Soccer to delay announcing its 26-man tournament roster until Friday, just before the FIFA deadline of Monday. Canada’s original plan was to reveal the squad ahead of the current camp in Charlotte, N.C.
They also prompted Marsch to call 32 players into an expanded camp.
“It’s become a wider preparation pool to make sure that we have contingency plans and that we’re covered from every angle positionally, mentally, every way for what we’re going to need in the tournament,” he explained.
The injuries have essentially left Marsch and his staff with a roster puzzle. Choosing a defender who is partially fit at the start of the tournament, for example, may require more resources in the backline, at the expense of another position.
The 30th-ranked Canadian men host No. 50 Uzbekistan on Monday in Edmonton before wrapping up their pretournament schedule against No. 59 Ireland on June 5 in Montreal.
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After opening Group B play against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada heads to Vancouver to face No. 55 Qatar and No. 19 Switzerland on June 18 and 24, respectively.
There was some positive news on the injury front.
David, recovering from hip surgery, is “as close to 100 per cent as we could hope” and the big striker will be ready for the opening game, said Marsch.
Bombito, a key player in Canada’s backline, played 32 minutes in a game against the Charlotte Independence on Sunday and could be ready to see action against Uzbekistan, according to Marsch.
Marsch says that Promise David (right) will be ready for Canada's World Cup opener on June 12, after undergoing hip surgery.Mark Blinch/Getty Images
Bombito broke his leg in October playing for Nice in a French Ligue 1 match.
Jones, who underwent ankle surgery in January, will be in “full training” this week. Marsch says the Middlesbrough defender is preparing “to be ready for the squad.”
Ahmed, the Norwich City winger whose breakthrough season in England was interrupted by a hamstring injury, is said to be ahead of schedule and will be in parts of training this week.
Laryea, who has sat out recent Toronto FC games with a thigh injury, should see minutes against Uzbekistan.
Marsch says while he has yet to see Shaffelburg, reports out of Los Angeles FC are that the winger is ahead of schedule after undergoing groin surgery in January.
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De Fougerolles, meanwhile, is out of concussion protocol. The defender was hurt in mid-May playing for Belgium’s FCV.
Priso and Johnston arrive in camp having played for the Vancouver Whitecaps and Glasgow Celtic, respectively, after returning from injury.
Cornelius is healthy but has been little more than a spectator with the Glasgow Rangers since recovering from an injury sustained in action with Canada in November.
Marsch said he didn’t know if the rash of injuries was due to the fact that many of his squad are playing at a higher level than before or whether it was just bad luck.
Marsch will have to make a final decision on his starting goalkeeper this week. Dayne St. Clair, who plays for MLS team Inter Miami CF, is fighting for the No. 1 job.Lynne Sladky/The Associated Press
If it’s the latter, he may have a solution.
Marsch talked of having “some kind of ceremony” in camp on Tuesday “to remove all the negative mojo.”
There is some injury wiggle room at the World Cup. Teams can replace an outfield player due to serious injury or illness up to 24 hours before their opening match, as long as the replacement comes from the side’s 55-man provisional roster.
And an injured goalkeeper can be swapped out any time during the tournament.
Marsch has yet to publicly name either Dayne St. Clair or Maxime Crépeau as his starting goalkeeper.
“I’ll be tormented by telling one of them that they are not the goalkeeper for the World Cup, but I know that I can’t make the wrong decision,” he said.
There is no place on the camp roster for the likes of goalkeeper James Pantemis, defender Kamal Miller and attackers Junior Hoilett and Theo Bair, among others.
Marsch said he told Pantemis that while he plans to take a young goalkeeper as Canada’s No. 3 at the tournament – 22-year-old Owen Goodman is the third ‘keeper in camp – he should stay sharp in case he is needed.
The same was said to Miller, Hoilett and Bair.
Canada captain Alphonso Davies isn’t with the national squad as it prepares for this summer’s World Cup with a training camp in Charlotte, N.C. Head coach Jesse Marsch says the Bayern Munich standout is still in Germany recovering from a hamstring injury and is expected to join the team in Edmonton ahead of a friendly against Uzbekistan, but it’s unlikely that Davies will play in Canada’s first game of the tournament.
The Canadian Press
Despite all the injury questions, Marsch remains upbeat, saying all national teams face challenges.
“I love our team. I believe in these guys. I wouldn’t trade our team for anyone right now. I love being their coach,” he said.
Goalkeeper Nathaniel Abraham (Toronto FC II), defenders Dylan Judelson (Orlando City B) and Elijah Roche (Toronto FC II), and midfielders Zayne Bruno (Forge FC), Tim Fortier (Toronto FC II) and Maël Henry (Cavalry FC) make up the numbers in camp as training players.
Canada camp roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crépeau, Orlando City SC (MLS); Owen Goodman, Barnsley FC (England), on loan from Crystal Palace; Dayne St. Clair, Inter Miami FC.
Defenders: Zorhan Bassong, Sporting Kansas City (MLS); Moïse Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Derek Cornelius, Glasgow Rangers (Scotland), on loan from Olympique de Marseille; Alphonso Davies (capt.), Bayern Munich (Germany); Luc de Fougerolles, FCV Dender EH (Belgium), on loan from Fulham; Alistair Johnston, Glasgow Celtic (Scotland); Alfie Jones, Middlesbrough (England); Jamie Knight-Lebel, Swindon Town (England), on loan from Bristol City; Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Ralph Priso, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk 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, Los Angeles FC (MLS), on loan from FC Porto; Marcelo Flores, Tigres UANL (Mexico); Ismaël Kone, U.S. Sassuolo Calcio (Italy); Liam Millar, Hull City (England); Jayden Nelson, Austin FC (MLS); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Nathan-Dylan Saliba, R.S.C. Anderlecht (Belgium); Jacob Shaffelburg, Los Angeles FC (MLS).
Forwards: Jonathan David, Juventus (Italy); Promise David, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium); Daniel Jebbison, Preston North End (England), on loan from AFC Bournemouth; Cyle Larin, Southampton (England), on loan from RCD Mallorca; Tani Oluwaseyi, Villarreal CF (Spain); Jacen Russell-Rowe, Toulouse FC (France).
Training players: Nathaniel Abraham, Zayne Bruno, Tim Fortier, Maël Henry, Dylan Judelson, Elijah Roche.