LOS ANGELES, June 28 — Canada coach Jesse Marsch termed Bayern Munich full-back Alphonso Davies, who sat on the bench in Canada’s three group matches at the FIFA World Cup, as a big X-factor in his team’s round-of-32 game against South Africa here on Sunday.
“Alphonso is a big X-factor for us because he is such a big talent. There are a lot of dynamic qualities that he brings to the game that make us better,” Marsch told a pre-match press conference on Saturday. “Even more so, the effect that he will have on the team, the belief they have in him, and the belief that he has in himself change the possibility of what the potential of our team is in this tournament,” he added. Davies, 25, tore his anterior cruciate ligament and suffered further knee damage in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game against the United States at Los Angeles Stadium in March 2025, an injury that took him eight months to recover from.
Now, after sitting out the group stage as he recovered from a subsequent hamstring injury, Davies is ready to make his debut in Canada’s World Cup campaign in Los Angeles. Although Marsch refused to confirm whether Davies would play or for how many minutes, he said that his star player was “more than ready” for the South Africa clash. “Now coming back to the stadium, I get to finish something I started a year ago in March,” Davies said. “Right now I am preparing mentally and physically for tomorrow.” Canada finished second in Group B behind Switzerland, while South Africa ranked second in Group A behind Mexico. The two teams have met only once previously in international football – a friendly in 2007 when South Africa won 2-0. Both sides are contesting their first-ever World Cup knockout match, and the winner will face either the Netherlands or Morocco in Houston on July 4.
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