Why is Alphonso Davies benched for Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina in FIFA World Cup 2026?

The first match of Group B kicks off tonight.

The Canada national football team, led by Alphonso Davies, will be locking horns with the Bosnia & Herzegovina national football team in their opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This is going to be an interesting Group B clash and is scheduled to take place at the Toronto Stadium.

The Jesse Marsch-led side have been on a decent run of form ahead of the flagship competition. They first secured a 2-0 win against Uzbekistan and were then held to a 1-1 draw after a decent performance against the Republic of Ireland.

Les Rogues have quality when it comes to midfield and the attack, but their defence is a little weak when it comes to battling it out on the world stage. Marsch also needs to polish the tactics when it comes to establishing control in the midfield.

The Canadian men’s national soccer team are yet to win a game at the FIFA World Cup. They are at home this time around and will be eager to use it to their advantage. In the 2022 edition of the flagship tournament, they lost all their matches and were knocked out of the group stage.

Also Read: Preview: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina prediction, odds, where to watch, time

Why is Alphonso Davies benched?

Canada’s captain and Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies is not fully kit and hence starts on the bench for Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina FIFA World Cup 2026 match and might get some minutes on the pitch.

During a press conference Jesse Marsch said, “We did an MRI with him. It showed very positive signs that he’s healing incredibly well, almost completely.”

“We’re getting ready to ramp things up. I think that he’s showing, like he always has, a real good ability to recover from muscle injuries,” Marsch mentioned further.

Stephen Eustáquio will don the captain’s armband for the Canada national football team in the absence of Davies.

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