VANCOUVER — Alphonso Davies is expected to make his return to the field Wednesday when Canada takes on Switzerland in their final group-stage game of this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Head coach Jesse Marsch said Tuesday that Davies will not start but is likely to come on 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.”

The 25-year-old star left back injured his left hamstring in early May while playing for Bayern Munich in a Champions League semifinal and has not played since.

It was the latest in a long list of ailments that have kept him from appearing for the national squad since March 2025.

Getting Davies back into a game would be a big boost for the team, Marsch said.

“It’s so much more than just what he brings on the pitch — it’s what he represents to us,” he said. “So, the good news is he’s looking great, he’s in training, he looks great, he looks fit, he looks ready to go, excited. So, let’s see how things go, but I expect him to play.”

Switzerland knows it could have to deal with the speed Davies brings to the Canadian squad, said defender Manuel Akanji.

“Everyone knows he’s one of the fastest players. (We have) to not give him too much space on the side that he can run past someone,” said the Inter Milan star.

“We have to work as a team, even against a player like him … We try to stop him as a team as we always do.”

Canada controls its own destiny heading into the game.

A win or a draw against Switzerland in Vancouver on Wednesday would see the Canadians win Group B and earn a round-of-32 game back at BC Place.

And that’s exactly what the national squad had planned from the beginning, said striker Cyle Larin.

“To go into the Switzerland game in a position to win the group, I think we’ve always expected that,” he said ahead of training on Monday.

“I think the group, we’ve always expected to be where we are, just from the quality we have in the group, the talent we have. I think we’ve always expected to be in this position.”

Not all onlookers shared those expectations.

Canada came into the tournament sitting at No. 30 in FIFA’s latest rankings, while Switzerland is No. 19.

Before thumping Qatar 6-0 in Vancouver last Thursday, the Canadian men had never won a World Cup game. Switzerland, meanwhile, has made it to the tournament’s knockout round five times.

Yet it’s the co-host nation that heads into Wednesday’s battle sitting atop the group. The two sides are tied on points with four apiece, but Canada is ahead on goal differential (plus-6).

“I think we’re in a great moment. We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing over the last game and last few games,” Larin said. “I think it just all came together against Qatar, and we have to keep that momentum and keep pushing. I think the guys are ready for it, and ready to perform.”

Canadian basketball legend Steve Nash gave the national squad a pep talk Tuesday morning, sending in a video message the group watched before training.

Nash — a Hall of Fame NBA player — spoke about managing tension and freedom in big games, Marsch said.

“The tension is about the discipline and the focus and the concentration to stick to the plan and to know what makes us who we are and what we are. And the freedom was to go out and play and believe in ourselves and to go after the game, and always show confidence and self belief,” the coach said. “I really love the message.”

Marsch said Nash’s message resonated with what he’s long told the group.

“I want them to understand exactly what their roles are and understand what the match plan is and why the match plan is important, and how it will help us gain an advantage in the match,” he said. “But I want our players, especially our attacking players, to go out on the pitch and be themselves and show the quality they have.”

Canada and Switzerland have only faced off once before, with the Canadians taking a 3-1 decision in May 2022.

The national team knows, though, that the Swiss present plenty of threats.

Playing in his fourth World Cup, defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka continues to be a crucial piece for the Nati, and scored on a penalty late in injury time to help Switzerland take a 4-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina last Thursday.

“He has a lot of quality on the ball and is a very smart player,” Larin said of the former Arsenal star. “Those players you have to be 100 per cent concentrated on everything because he can make a pass, he can control the game.”

Switzerland focuses a lot on possession and has players who are good at playing wide, said Liam Millar.

Canada’s task will be focusing on their own game instead of letting the opponents dictate play, he added.

“I feel like we still just need to keep our same way that we are. Just be the same, be aggressive, make sure that we don’t give these guys time on the ball,” he said.

“But if I feel like we can get tight to them and get aggressive with them and not give them time on the ball, it’s going to make them have to make a decision, and if we do that, I feel like we got a good chance.”

The Canadian coaches have given all of the players a solid game plan for taking down the Swiss, said defender Derek Cornelius, and now the team is ready to execute.

“I think we’ve been very aware that this is a very good Switzerland team that we’re coming up against,” he said. “They have experience, quality throughout the whole squad. So we need to be ready for it. We need to be aware of their threats and also try to exploit their weaknesses.”

Marsch will have to make at least one change to the starting 11 he deployed against Qatar after central midfielder Ismaël Koné was cut down early in the second half, suffering a broken leg in the process.

His friend Nathan Saliba came on in relief, making his World Cup debut, and scored off a free kick just minutes later. As he was mobbed by teammates, Saliba formed his fingers into an eight — Koné’s number — then grabbed his teammate’s jersey from the bench and held it up for the crowd.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026.