Canada coach Marsch loads up on defender invites to World Cup camp as star Davies's injury status uncertain

It’s crushing to think about the World Cup dreams that will be dashed before other men’s dreams come true.

Head coach Jesse Marsch has called 32 players to Canada’s last pre-tournament training camp this week in Charlotte, N.C. Junior Hoilett, James Pantemis, Kamal Miller, and Theo Bair are not among them. Their sad fates are already sealed. 

Six more players will start camp and not make the squad, either. When 26 luckier ones fly to Edmonton on Saturday to continue their preparations for the tournament of their lives, the final cuts will head home.

Marsch, who found himself on the bubble with the U.S. national team as a player, has spoken often about the toll these selections take on him. “My thoughts are always about, when I make decisions, the guy who doesn’t get the call,” he said after the team’s friendly against Tunisia in March.

Of those who didn’t receive an invite at all, Hoilett might be the most surprising omission. The 35-year-old is a calming presence and could have proved a creative influence especially if Alphonso Davies, under the weight of injury concerns and club intrigue, can’t play in the end. 

Pantemis — who, like Hoilett, was on the team that went to Qatar in 2022 — also seemed to be making a case for consideration with his sometimes-spectacular play with the Portland Timbers.

Predicting who makes Canada's World Cup roster

Marsch named only three goalkeepers to camp, and all three will make the team: Maxime Crépeau, Dayne St. Clair, and Owen Goodman. The head coach’s indecision about who will start might have left him reluctant to make that choice any harder than it already is.

The same isn’t true for defenders. Canada’s backline has been wobbled by injuries beyond Davies, and Marsch has called in