Jesse Marsch has named his 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026, where co-hosts Canada will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B.
As confirmed by Marsch last week, superstar full-back Alphonso Davies will headline the roster despite an ongoing hamstring injury, which is likely to keep him out of Canada's opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Toronto Stadium on 12 June.
The Bayern Munich star is not due to meet up with the squad until 31 May as he continues treatment back in Germany.
Elsewhere, the squad is balanced between veterans from the Qatar 2022 campaign, such as forwards Jonathan David and Cyle Larin, and a series of dual nationals that Marsch has brought in over the past two years, including defenders Alfie Jones, Luc de Fougerolles and Niko Sigur, plus forward Promise David.
The Royale Union Saint-Gilloise frontman, who has recovered from a serious hip problem which severely endangered his World Cup participation, is just one of four forwards in the roster, with Daniel Jebbison missing out.
"I did not think it was possible [to make the squad]... I kind of gave up," Promise David told TSN. "But Jesse called me and said, 'We're going to give you as much time as you need... you'll be fine'."
Among the ten midfielders is Norwich City winger Ali Ahmed, who six years ago was contemplating his future in the game after trials at non-league English clubs such as Enfield Town, Cheshunt FC and Tooting & Mitcham United all came to nothing.
Marsch revealed last week that has he still not decided who will be his No1 goalkeeper for the tournament, with Orlando City's Maxime Crepeau and Inter Miami's Dayne St. Clair both in the running.
The situation is poised to be resolved following the upcoming friendly with Uzbekistan on 1 June. "Whatever the decision is we will be here for one another and for the team on and off the field," Crepeau told TSN.
It will be Crepeau's first World Cup after he agonizingly missed out on Qatar 2022 with a broken leg suffered just before the tournament.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Dayne St Clair (Inter Miami/USA), Maxime Crepeau (Orlando City/USA), Owen Goodman (Crystal Palace/ENG)
Defenders: Alistair Johnston (Celtic/SCO), Derek Cornelius (Marseille/FRA), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC/CAN), Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split/CRO), Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire/USA), Luc de Fougerolles (Fulham/ENG), Moise Bombito (Nice/FRA), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich/GER), Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough/ENG)
Midfielders: Stephen Eustaquio (Porto/POR), Ismael Kone (Sassuolo/ITA), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal/ESP), Mathieu Choiniere (Los Angeles FC/USA), Ali Ahmed (Norwich City/ENG), Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht/BEL), Liam Millar (Hull City/ENG), Marcelo Flores (Tigres UANL/MEX), Jacob Shaffelburg (Toronto FC/CAN), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC/CAN)
Attackers: Jonathan David (Juventus/ITA), Cyle Larin (Southampton/ENG), Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal/ESP), Promise David (Union SG/BEL)
Credit: FIFA, AFP
