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Head coach Jesse Marsch was using Alphonso Davies “as a decoy” after saying he expected the captain would play for Canada in Wednesday’s crucial FIFA World Cup match against Switzerland.
“Alphonso wasn’t ready yet, so I was using him a little bit as a decoy,” Marsch said after the game. “He will be ready for the next match.”
Marsch was asked if he thought his ploy worked.
“I listened to their news conference [and they] had three questions about Alphonso Davies, so they at least had to prepare for that,” Marsch said.
Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin was asked what he thought about Marsch’s tactic.
“You always have to plan with the captain,” Yakin said through an interpreter. “You have to look at different games and different styles. You have a sense of the substitutes too.
“Of course, we looked at Davies during this tournament, but we didn’t only prepare for individual players. Right now, we only react to what’s happening on the pitch.”
Marsch sounded confident Tuesday that Davies would come into the match as a substitute.
“We will evaluate what we need of him in the game,” Marsch said. “I would like to get him into the match, for sure. And I think that he can have a big impact, both on us physically and football wise, but also mentally, psychologically, to have our captain back, our best player back in the team. I think this is a big factor.”
Jacob Shaffeburg final substitution
The Swiss took a 2-0 lead in the match before Canada fought back with a goal from Promise David in the 76th minute.
With time ticking down, and Canada trailing by a goal, Marsch elected to bring in Jacob Shaffeburg with his final substitution.
The loss meant Canada finished second in Group B and will play Group A’s runner-up Sunday in Los Angeles.
After the game Davies walked through the mixed zone with a cellphone pressed to his ear. He did not stop to talk to the media.
The 25-year-old wing back has not played since early May when he suffered a hamstring injury playing for Bayern Munich in a Champions League semifinal.
Davies hasn’t played for Canada since a ligament injury during Nations League play against the United States in March 2025.
Davies didn’t dress for Canada’s 1-1 opening World Cup draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12. He was on the bench for a 6-0 win over Qatar on June 18 in Vancouver.
Davies has struggled to stay healthy.
His latest injury was his third since he returned Dec. 8 from a 260-day layoff from a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Davies was sidelined Feb. 22 to March 9 with a muscle fibre tear, then from March 11 to April 2 with a right hamstring injury.
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