TORONTO, May 30 (Reuters) – Alphonso Davies will play for Canada at the World Cup, the final squad announcement showed on Friday, relieving the nation’s fears that the injured captain wouldn’t be better in time.
The televised announcement of the 26-man team contained few surprises.
As expected, Bayern Munich’s Davies is included in the squad, as are other prominent players like Jonathan David of Juventus.
“We really think this is our strongest group,” said coach Jesse Marsch. Injuries have plagued the Canada team, but a number of recovering players are included in the squad.
Much of the chatter around the announcement had been about Davies, who suffered a hamstring injury in the Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain.
Marsch has said Davies would join the rest of the team in Edmonton on May 31, allowing time for his injury to heal. His team mates spent this week training in Charlotte, North Carolina. Davies has been training separately this week, Marsch said.
Marsch has struggled with his starting goalkeeper choice, acknowledging he feels “tormented” in picking between Maxime Crepeau of Orlando City and Dayne St. Clair of Inter Miami. His choice is not expected for a few days.
The two keepers are friends and joked about how they are handling the stress of the selection process.
“We’re gonna play rocks-paper-scissors,” about who gets to start, St. Clair said on the TSN TV broadcast.
Davies is an exception to the general anonymity of soccer players to most Canadians, who favour ice hockey, American-style football, basketball and baseball. The Bundesliga fullback is known to millions, gathering swarms of fans at the 2022 World Cup.
David also has a large following in Canada, particularly with its millions of citizens of Italian and Haitian descent.
One popular 2022 player is not in the squad: Junior Hoilett. The longtime squad member has slowed in his 36th year, and Marsch is known to emphasize speed.
Marsch, an American, is a prominent coach, having managed both Germany’s RB Leipzig in 2021 and England’s Leeds United in 2022-23, as well as winning numerous honours in the MLS, both as a coach and a player.
Marsch said he wished injuries were not the focus of questions about Canada’s prospects, saying the squad is the best Canada has ever had.
“Guys are getting healthy,” he said.
Soccer has become a much more popular spectator sport in Canada in recent years, with English and Spanish football leagues becoming widely followed, a national league forming and Major League Soccer seeing strong fan support.
Canada squad:
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau from Orlando City SC, Owen Goodman from Barnsley FC (on loan from Crystal Palace FC), and Dayne St. Clair from Inter Miami FC.
Defenders: Moise Bombito from OGC Nice, Derek Cornelius from Olympique de Marseille, Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich, Luc de Fougerolles from Fulham FC, Alistair Johnston from Celtic FC, Alfie Jones from Middlesbrough FC, Richie Laryea from Toronto FC, Niko Sigur from Hajduk Split and Joel Waterman from Chicago Fire FC.
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed from Norwich City FC, Tajon Buchanan from Villarreal CF, Mathieu Choiniere from LAFC, Stephen Eustaquio from FC Porto, Marcelo Flores from Tigres UANL, Ismael Kone from U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, Liam Millar from Hull City FC, Jonathan Osorio from Toronto FC, Nathan Saliba from R.S.C. Anderlecht and Jacob Shaffelburg from LAFC.
Forwards: Jonathan David from Juventus FC, Promise David from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Cyle Larin from RCD Mallorca, and Tani Oluwaseyi from Villarreal CF.
(Reporting by Ed White in Winnipeg; Editing by Christian Radnedge and William Mallard)
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