Canada ready to embrace World Cup pressure as injury clouds begin to clear

TORONTO, June 11 : Jesse Marsch has a simple message for anyone wondering whether his Canada side are ready for the weight of a home World Cup: they are not just ready for it, they want it.

Canada will arrive at Toronto Stadium on Friday for their first World Cup game on home soil carrying the weight of a nation after a build-up that has been defined as much by the treatment room as the training pitch, but Marsch is undaunted.

"If you do this for a living, this is where you want to be," Marsch said on Thursday ahead of the Group B opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"I came to Canada to be the coach because I liked these guys and I believed they could fit the way I wanted to play, but I came here to lead them in the World Cup — in the home World Cup. I wanted this responsibility."

MARSCH HOPEFUL CAPTAIN DAVIES CAN CONTRIBUTE SOON

The biggest injury concern remains captain Alphonso Davies, who will miss Friday's match with a hamstring injury suffered during Bayern Munich's Champions League semi-final last month. But Marsch said an MRI on Wednesday brought encouraging signs.

"We're getting ready to ramp things up," the American said.

"He will not be available for tomorrow, but he's showing, like he always has, a real good ability to recover from muscle injuries. We're really hopeful that over the next days and weeks we can accelerate things and give him a chance to contribute here soon."

Midfielder Ismael Kone sent a scare through the camp when he left training early on Wednesday before it had even properly begun, but Marsch was quick to put those fears to rest — with a touch of exasperation.

"He just felt a little sick, so we sent him home because we were doing nothing on the day, and it was like a five-star red alert," Marsch