Canada captain Alphonso Davies don miss di team opening match for World Cup against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Head coach Jesse Marsch confirm say di Bayern Munich left-back still dey recover from hamstring injury wey e suffer for May.
Marsch tok for press conference for BMO Stadium for Toronto say MRI result show say Davies dey heal well but no go fit play di first match. ‘I come here to lead dem for World Cup, for home World Cup. I want dis responsibility,’ Marsch tok.
Stephen Eustaquio wey dey play for Los Angeles FC for MLS go captain Canada for di match. Dis one go be first World Cup match ever wey go play for Canadian soil.
Marsch say di team don remain calm even with high expectations. ‘We all dey aware of World Cup. We all dey aware say e dey for home. We all dey excited,’ e tok. E add say di team want ‘show our quality, our character and our togetherness.’
Canada don qualify for World Cup for 1986 and 2022 but lose all six matches for those tournaments. Dis year squad get plenty players wey dey play for top European leagues.
Bosnia-Herzegovina head coach Sergej Barbarez call di upcoming match important event and highlight challenge of facing co-host nation for opening game. ‘We dey play against host, for opening match. E go certainly be intense match,’ Barbarez tok for same venue.
Di 54-year-old coach say im team get tough path to tournament, including win over Italy to qualify. E add say di players ready and eager to perform.
Barbarez say striker Haris Tabakovic no ready yet and fit dey available for second match at best. E also confirm say veteran forward Edin Dzeko dey healthy and dey train as usual.
Barbarez wey become head coach for 2024 say di team journey to World Cup don be challenging. ‘I wanted to create something different; better, simpler, more sincere,’ e tok. E add say di process don validate di team approach and direction.
Dis one be Bosnia-Herzegovina second World Cup appearance. Di Group B match against Canada go take place for Friday for Toronto.
