Jesse Marsch stood at the podium in Los Angeles on Friday and dropped the news Canadian fans have been waiting weeks to hear: Alphonso Davies is back. No more decoys, no more gamesmanship. The Bayern Munich star, who missed all three group stage matches with a hamstring injury, is healthy and ready to go for Saturday’s Round of 32 clash against South Africa.
“Now that we have Alphonso back and healthy, and ready to perform, I think it’s a big moment for the team and a big boost for the team,” Marsch said.
This is the same coach who admitted earlier in the tournament that he used Davies as a decoy in press conferences, telling reporters the left back might be available for Canada’s second and third group matches when he really wasn’t. That strategy may have thrown opponents off, but it also meant Canada had to navigate group play without its best player.
They did alright. A 6-0 win over Panama gave Canada its first men’s World Cup victory ever. Jonathan David bagged a hat trick in that one. There was also the brutal loss of midfielder Ismaël Koné to injury and a first-ever knockout round berth as a host nation. But none of that compares to getting Davies back on the field.
The weirdest host nation advantage ever
Here’s where it gets strange. Canada is technically the host country, but Saturday’s match is in Los Angeles. South Africa is the designated home team. So Canada becomes the first host nation in World Cup history to play what amounts to an away knockout game.
They were originally scheduled to face South Korea, but the Bafana Bafana stunned Korea to grab second place in Group A. Now it’s Canada vs. South Africa, a matchup nobody predicted at the start of the tournament.
Marsch isn’t sleeping on South Africa
“We’re expecting South Africa to be very intensive, to have a fast start, to be excited and spirited for this match,” Marsch said. He noted that South Africa “stayed strong in the tournament and found a way to get better as they’ve gone on.”
It’s going to be a physical game. Marsch acknowledged that directly. And for a guy like Davies coming off a hamstring issue, that raises the stakes. The coaching staff will have to manage his minutes carefully. But having him available at all changes the math for Canada’s attack.
When a reporter asked Marsch on Friday if Davies would start, the captain himself laughed and smiled from the back of the room. Marsch didn’t give a straight answer, but the implication was clear: he’s ready.
Canada faces South Africa on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. A win would send the Canucks to the Round of 16 against either England or the Netherlands. That’s a long way off, though. First things first: get Davies on the pitch and see what happens.
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