Canada boss Jesse Marsch: Alphonso Davies "ready to perform" against South Africa

Decoy or not? 

Alphonso Davies remains one of the biggest stories of the 2026 World Cup. And that is even though he hasn’t played a single minute. That’s perhaps a surprise given that Canadian men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch told the media ahead of his team’s last group stage match against Switzerland that Davies was available. That turned out to be a decoy, however.

“No, he was never going to play today,” Marsch said after the game when asked whether he used Davies as a decoy. Why would he do that? “Because I wanted Switzerland to have to think about it. I think that I listened to their press conference; they had like three questions about Davies, so they at least had to prepare for that." That begged the question: Will we see Davies against South Africa on Sunday?

“Alphonso back and healthy and ready to perform,” Marsch said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. But that comes with a caveat. "I am not confirming any minutes, starts, etc. He is available to play tomorrow." When the question was asked whether Davies would start, you could hear the Bayern Munich left-back exclaim: "Start?" The word was muttered almost in disbelief.

Davies “ready to perform” against South Africa – But will he start?

It would have taken an unbelievable acting performance by Davies to stage the way he muttered the word. Instead, it felt like a slip-up, a crack in the armour that highlights that Davies is certainly not quite ready to start at this moment and time. Indeed, during the open practice session, Davies was part of the group but then stepped aside to follow a personal training routine. Of course, we don’t know what happened once the media was told to leave. In other words, all of this could be another decoy.

Marsch, in fact, spoke openly about how using Davies throughout the group stage of the tournament was always part of the plan. “We were fairly certain early that playing in the group phase was unlikely, and I said to him, ' What if we used you as a decoy,” Marsch said. “And he was like: ‘ok’. He still looked at me at times and said, 'You are crazy’.” Indeed, the decision to withhold Davies from the group stage was closely coordinated with Bayern Munich. “At the beginning of the injury Bayern and Canada sat together and made a plan,” Marsch said. “There has been great communication from the start, and we have executed the plan very well.”

Part of that communication took place between Marsch and Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund. “Christoph Freund was my sporting director for two years,” Marsch said. “We had an incredible relationship and great success with the club at the time. He isn’t just a colleague but a friend. Over the last two years, throughout this process and in our relationship between the national team and the club, we tried to be on the same page and communicate openly. It hasn't always been easy because of the public scrutiny Bayern are always under. But at this moment we have really worked together for what is best for Alphonso, and it has been hard for him to watch games from the sidelines.”

Davies at a crossroads – Brown signing puts pressure on Canadian star

Now it appears that the moment could finally be here for Davies to make his mark on the World Cup. “Obviously it was painful,” Davies said about watching from the sideline. “The only thing I want to do is to play football, which I am very passionate about, and I am very eager to get back on the pitch. It means a lot. I remember going to Russia as a 17/18-year-old kid to the FIFA congress about bringing the World Cup here, and seeing it come through is something truly special.” In fact, Davies has always been the face of this tournament, and his absence has been a major blow for Canada.

There is more than just the World Cup riding on Davies’ fitness. Bayern Munich have all but confirmed the signing of Nathaniel Brown from Frankfurt. The German national team winger will be strong competition for Davies. Signed to a big contract in Munich, Davies has no desire to move on. Quite the contrary, the Canadian wants to fight for his spot under Vincent Kompany, and that means being in top condition when the 2026/27 season kicks off. To that end, Davies has worked together with a personal trainer, Matthias Blankenburg, to stabilize his fitness.

“Matthias has been great; he’s been helping me to get back to full fitness,” Davies said. I think he has been doing a good job, and I continue to work with him, and he just keeps me healthy and fit.” Marsch added: “I’ll comment on that. When Alphonso mentioned that he wanted to bring in a personal trainer to help with his rehabilitation, I was fully supportive of that, and I think. It’s important, especially when you are the level of athlete that Alphonso is, someone who knows what the demands of his body are. I think he has been a huge help for Alphonso, and we now see him in great form and great fitness, and he is more than ready for tomorrow.”

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