HOUSTON — Alphonso Davies said a lingering hamstring injury kept him out of Canada’s round-of-16 loss to Morocco, leaving the national team captain on the bench for all but 15 minutes of the country’s historic FIFA World Cup run.
Davies, 25, did not start and was not used as a substitute Saturday as Canada fell 3-0, ending its breakout tournament performance.
Head coach Jesse Marsch said Canada wanted Davies available when the match was still 1-0 around the 60th minute, but the staff did not believe he was healthy enough to play. Marsch said the decision was made to protect Davies’ career and help him get fully fit.
Davies felt he could not give Canada 100 per cent
Davies said it was mentally difficult to watch from the bench when he wanted to be on the field, but he knew he had to support the team in another way.
The left back picked up the hamstring injury while playing for Bayern Munich in a Champions League semifinal, adding to a run of lower-body issues. He missed Canada’s training camp in Charlotte, N.C., but was still named to the 26-man roster and joined the squad in Edmonton before a pre-tournament game.
For weeks, Davies worked mostly away from the full group with personal trainer Matthias Blankenburg, whom he brought into Canada’s camp from Germany.
Davies did not play in Canada’s three group-stage games on home soil. Marsch later said he would be available against South Africa in the round of 32, and Davies came on in the 74th minute, helping stretch play with his passing and movement.
MRI was clear before Morocco match
Marsch said Davies felt something in training Friday. An MRI came back clear, but Davies did not feel right when he woke up Saturday and chose not to play.
Davies said he did not want to be a burden to Canada if he could not play freely and give his all.
Born in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled civil war in Liberia, Davies grew up in Edmonton and spoke at the FIFA Congress in June 2018 as part of Canada’s bid to co-host the 2026 tournament. In 2022, he scored Canada’s first goal in a men’s World Cup.
Vice-captain Stephen Eustaquio said Davies helped in the way he could, but Canada missed its best player against Morocco. Eustaquio said Davies would have been an important option against Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi while adding that he was proud of the group’s overall level.