Canada captain Alphonso Davies available to play vs. Qatar after missing World Cup opener

By: Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press Posted: 8:39 PM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026 Last Modified: 11:24 PM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canada captain Alphonso Davies will be available to play on Thursday against Qatar after he missed his team's World Cup opener while recovering from a hamstring injury, coach Jesse Marsch said.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canada captain Alphonso Davies will be available to play on Thursday against Qatar after he missed his team’s World Cup opener while recovering from a hamstring injury, coach Jesse Marsch said.

The left back was injured last month while playing for Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals.

In an open practice earlier this week, Davies was limited in training and was still in the return-to-play protocol.

Canada's Alphonso Davies walks across the field during a training session on the eve of the team's World Cup soccer match against Qatar, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

“He’s been in training this week, and he’ll be available tomorrow, and we’ll see how the match goes and then make a decision on how we would choose to use him,” March said Wednesday evening.

Davies has not played for Canada since March 2025, when he tore an ACL in the CONCACAF Nations League finals. He has 15 goals in 58 international appearances.

“We’ve worked really well through this, and Alphonso is looking really good,” Marsch said. “So it’s just a matter of, OK, what kind of game is it, what kind of moment is it, and how do we feel Alphonso can contribute right now? But he’s ready, he’ll be available.”

Marsch also said center back Moïse Bombito would be available after missing Canada’s opening World Cup match, a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in Toronto. Late substitute Cyle Larin scored the equalizer in the 78th minute.

Bombito broke his leg in October while playing for Nice. He played in a World Cup tuneup against Uzbekistan on June 1, but was subbed out after about 30 minutes and was later seen icing his lower leg.

Defender Alfie Jones has been ruled out of the match against Qatar after a setback in his recovery from ankle surgery. He did not train on Wednesday.

Qatar pulled off a 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Saturday in Santa Clara, California. Boualem Khoukhi scored for Qatar in stoppage time for the nation’s first-ever World Cup point.

All four teams in Group B had one point heading into their second matches.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup