Davies fit and ready as Canada face South Africa in World Cup round of 32

Alphonso Davies is fit and available for Canada’s round of 32 clash against South Africa at Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday, coach Jesse Marsch confirmed at a press conference on Saturday — ending weeks of carefully managed uncertainty around the team’s most important player.

Marsch admitted he had used Davies as a deliberate decoy during the group stage, publicly stating the Bayern Munich left back was available while knowing he would not actually play. The tactic was designed to force Canada’s opponents to prepare for a player who was not yet ready, after Davies suffered three hamstring injuries in the past four months, including one during the Champions League semifinals.

“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. “In general, all the players that came into camp with little injuries are now really close to 100% and ready to perform at the highest level.”

Davies was visibly frustrated by the enforced absence, having waited years for Canada to host a World Cup. He missed all three of Canada’s home group games in Toronto and Vancouver, and by the final match — a group-deciding loss to Switzerland last Wednesday — he went directly to Marsch to ask for minutes.

“The first game, watching it, I was eager to be on the pitch. Second game, even more so. The third game, I went to him before the game and asked him, ‘Do you think I can get a couple of minutes?’” Davies said. “He could have said, ‘Yeah, we’ll just throw you in there,’ but obviously he cares about me and the team as human beings as well, so he sat me down… I thought about it, and I said, ‘He’s right.’ It was kind of hard to hear.”

Marsch declined to confirm whether Davies will start, how many minutes he will play, or what position he will occupy against South Africa. The coach framed the patient approach as a decision made in Davies’ long-term interests.

“For me to go tell our best player, and a guy that is a huge piece of everything that we do, that we have to wait, was also painful,” Marsch said. “But we’ve done this in the best interests of Alphonso and his career and his health, so it’s nice now that we can have a plan that leads to him being back on the pitch.”

Davies scored Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal against Croatia in Qatar in 2022. Sunday’s match represents Canada’s first knockout-round appearance, and the defeat to Switzerland means the co-hosts must play that game away from home in Los Angeles rather than in Vancouver.