Canada’s defender Richie Laryea in action during a training session for matches against Iceland and Tunisia this week.Eduardo Lima/The Canadian Press
While co-host Canada continues with its World Cup preparation via friendlies, it will learn Tuesday the identity of its opponent in the June 12 tournament opener in Toronto.
And whether it’s Italy, ranked 13th in the world as of January’s FIFA ranking, or No. 71 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada head coach Jesse Marsch expects a hard-nosed foe thanks to the do-or-die nature of the European playoffs.
“I do think those matches create a little bit of hardened toughness for what will be necessary in the World Cup, and I think those teams will benefit from that,” Marsch told a new conference in advance of Saturday’s game against No. 74 Iceland.
“So I think whoever we play, whether it’s Bosnia or Italy, they’ll have that under their belt, like the pressure and the toughness of what it took to get through those matches. But you know, like I said, I’m really kind of lasered in on making sure that we get the most out of our camp in these two matches.”
After Iceland, the Canadian men face No. 47 Tunisia on Tuesday. Both visiting teams will get a second game during the window, playing No. 83 Haiti, also in Toronto.
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Italy blanked No. 69 Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday in Bergamo while Bosnia, after Edin Dzeko’s 86th-minute goal tied it at 1-1, defeated No. 35 Wales 4-2 on penalties in Cardiff.
Tuesday decider in Zenica will fill the last remaining slot in Group B, alongside No. 18 Switzerland, No. 29 Canada and No. 56 Qatar.
Marsch offered a few insights into his personnel plans for the upcoming games at BMO Field.
Midfielder Ismaël Koné is suspended Saturday but will start Tuesday. Dayne St. Clair will start in goal with Maxime Crépeau, recovered from a minor injury, getting the nod Tuesday.
Winger Marcelo Flores, who has switched his allegiance to Canada from Mexico, will see action off the bench Saturday and start Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Flores, who was born in Georgetown, Ont., to a Canadian mother and Mexican father, has already represented Mexico at senior level and plays his club football for Mexico’s Tigres.
Flores in just one of a wealth of attackers available to Marsch, with Jonathan David, Tani Oluwaseyi, Cyle Larin, Daniel Jebbison, Jacen Russell-Rowe and the uncapped Bim Pepple also in camp.
“We have so many weapons on this team, it’s a nice problem to have,” said Marsch.
David will captain Canada in the absence of the injured Alphonso Davies and Stephen Eustáquio.
Canada’s injury list also includes defenders Sam Adekugbe, Zorhan Bassong and Alfie Jones, and forwards Promise David, Jacob Shaffelburg and Theo Bair.
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Fullback Alistair Johnston and centre back Moïse Bombito, normally one half of Canada’s back four, are in camp but only as training players as they regain fitness.
Johnston has not played for Celtic since October when he suffered a hamstring injury that required surgery.
Bombito fractured his left tibia in French Ligue 1 action in early October, soon after returning from a four-month absence after wrist surgery and a tibia stress fracture.
Defenders Derek Cornelius and Luc de Fougerolles are also in camp after their return from injury.
Marsch suggested that winger Ali Ahmed, thanks to his impressive run of former With England’s Norwich City, has probably played his way into the Canadian starting lineup.
That means squeezing Richie Laryea into the lineup somehow after Davies returns. It helps that Laryea can play a variety of positions.
“The reality is that the competition in the team is really steep now,” said Marsch. “Without being too clever, I think we have a lot of possibilities of how we can use guys – to get the best out of them and to benefit the team the best.”
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After the March window, Canada has just two more World Cup warm-ups – against No. 52 Uzbekistan on June 1 in Edmonton and No. 59 Ireland on June 5 in Montreal.
“This whole last year has been a process of maximizing exactly what we want to be,” Marsch said. “And as we get closer, we just need to tighten the screw a little bit without feeling stress or panic – just focus and concentration to make sure that we are at our absolute best.”
Iceland missed out on qualification after finishing third in its European qualifying group at 2-3-1. France booked its ticket by topping the group while runner-up Ukraine advanced to the UEFA playoffs, where it lost 3-1 to Sweden.
Marsch said Iceland will likely defend deep, look to attack on the counter or via crosses, and make the most of set pieces.
Tunisia qualified for the World Cup in impressive fashion. The team known as the Carthage Eagles went unbeaten in topping its African qualifying group with a 9-0-1 record.
Haiti, ranked 83rd in the world, has also qualified for the World Cup.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article stated that Richie Laryea will be captain for Canada. Jonathan David will captain. The story has been corrected.