Canada's head coach loads up on defender invites to FIFA World Cup camp as Alphonso Davies's injury status uncertain

Davies potential won't recreate in Canada's domain transfuse opener: coach

It’s crushing to think about the World Cup dreams that will be dashed before other men’s dreams come true.

Head coach Jesse Marsch, who has spoken often about the toll that player selections take on him, has called 32 to Canada’s last pre-tournament training camp this week in Charlotte, N.C. Junior Hoilett, James Pantemis, Kamal Miller, and Theo Bair did not make the invite list. Their sad fates are already sealed. 

Six more players will start camp and not make the squad, either. When 26 luckier ones fly to Edmonton on Saturday to continue their preparations for the tournament of their lives, the final cuts will head home.

“We’re going to have a really good squad, the best squad Canada’s ever had,” Marsch said Monday. “We’re going to be younger, we’re going to be more dynamic, we’re going to have more players playing at a higher level, we’re going to be athletic and strong.”

Of those who didn’t receive an invite, Hoilett might be the most surprising omission. The 35-year-old could have proved a creative influence if star left back Alphonso Davies — on the roster but not in Charlotte because of ongoing injury concerns — can’t play in the end.

Predicting who makes Canada's World Cup roster

Pantemis also seemed to be making a case for consideration, but Marsch named only three goalkeepers to camp and so to the team: Maxime Crépeau, Dayne St. Clair, and Owen Goodman. The head coach’s indecision about who will start might have left him reluctant to make that choice any harder than it already is.

The same isn’t true for defenders. Canada’s backline has been wobbled by injuries beyond Davies, and Marsch has called in backups for his backups. He’s bringing a dozen to camp, including familiars like Moise Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Alistair Johnston, Richie Laryea, and Niko Sigur. 

Canadian soccer fans can only hope that Davies isn’t among the cuts Marsch will need to make from their swollen ranks.

Canada’s captain has suffered three different muscle and hamstring injuries with Bayern Munich since his return from ACL surgery in December and hasn’t played club soccer since May 6.

He hasn’t played for Canada in more than a year, and he won’t be with the team, again, in Charlotte. He’ll continue treatment in Munich until he joins the national side in Edmonton, the day before their June 1 friendly against Uzbekistan.

“We’re all working together to try to help that situation improve, most importantly for Alphonso,” Marsch said. “We all want to set him up to succeed. In the end, we’re going to have to put a process in place that doesn’t put him further at risk.”

Davies signed a massive contract extension with the Bundesliga champions weeks before his knee injury, which he sustained in CONCACAF Nations League action with Canada in March 2025. Bayern executives threatened to sue Canada Soccer, and Davies’s subsequent struggles have understandably left them feeling more embittered.

Professional clubs must release players for international duty, but according to German tabloid reports, Bayern has been putting pressure on Davies to take the summer off and return to full fitness. This week will determine whether he’s healthy and perhaps defiant enough to play for his country first.

“I think Alphonso will play in the World Cup,” Marsch said. “I don’t think he’ll be ready for June 12” — referring to Canada’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto — "but we’ll see.”

Alfie Jones, who’s taken longer than expected to return from ankle surgery but has traveled to Charlotte, is another delicate inclusion. Healthy, he might have been a starting centre back, but he hasn’t played since an abbreviated Boxing Day fixture with Middlesbrough.

His questionable status will dictate not only his World Cup destiny but the destiny of others. Ralph Priso, for instance, received a well-earned invitation after his stellar recent play with the Vancouver Whitecaps, but he would seem a long shot to make the full squad unless a regular isn’t fit enough. So would Zorhan Bassong and Jamie Knight-Lebel.

There were no surprises among Marsch’s 11 midfield selections, although he’ll need to cut one or two of them as well. Liam Millar, who recently won an emotional promotion to the Premier League after Hull’s playoff win over Middlesbrough, is among the roster locks, along with Stephen Eustáquio, Ali Ahmed, Tajon Buchanan, and Ismael Koné.

Jayden Nelson and Jacob Shaffelburg seem the most in danger of not making the team.

Six forwards round out Marsch’s camp. Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, and Tani Oluwaseyi will make the final squad, and Daniel Jebbison is a virtual certainty.

Promise David has made a remarkable recovery from the ruptured hip tendon he suffered in February. He hasn’t played since, but Marsch seemed more certain that David, unlike Davies, will be ready for June 12. Jacen Russell-Rowe has been invited in case David’s comeback efforts fall unexpectedly short.

Marsch will announce his final roster Friday: anointing 26, but with his thoughts, as always, with the names he doesn’t name.

Especially if that name is Alphonso Davies.

Senior Contributor

Chris Jones is a journalist and screenwriter who began his career covering baseball and boxing for the National Post. He later joined Esquire magazine, where he won two National Magazine Awards for his feature writing. His memoir, Legs Hearts Minds: Loss and Its Remedies, will be published by Random House in June.

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

Get up to speed on what's happening in sports. Delivered weekdays.

---

---