Questions surround how Canada has handled the Alphonso Davies will-he-or-won't-he-play saga at World Cup

For the second consecutive World Cup, there are questions about Alphonso Davies, arguably the best player Canada has produced, and his contributions to the men’s team. The difference this time around is that he hasn’t played a minute.

Before last Wednesday’s loss to Switzerland, a reporter asked head coach Jesse Marsch what she called “the requisite Alphonso Davies question,” because the star left back��’s prolonged return from a series of hamstring and muscle strains has become a major subplot in Canada’s historic campaign.

“He’s trained with the team all week,” Marsch said. “He will not start, but he will be available to play.”

After a narrow 2-1 defeat, Marsch said that he’d lied, using Davies as a “decoy” to waste Swiss time and attention.

Had Canada’s men won or drawn the match, they would have topped their group and made their first World Cup knockout-round appearance in Vancouver next week. Instead, they finished second and have traveled to Los Angeles to meet South Africa in Round of 32 action on Sunday.

Marsch defended his deception the morning after. “This is not a friendly,” he said. “This is competitive. We’re going to do whatever we can as a group to make sure that we can get an edge.”

He also said that Davies had asked to play, and Marsch told him no.

Marsch was asked if that was a difficult decision. 

“It’s been easy because we’ve had a plan,” he said. “The only deviation to the plan is how I’ve communicated it with you guys.”

Essentially, Marsch suggested he’d been lying to reporters, and so to fans, about Davies and his status for some time, and had no intention of playing him before the elimination games.

“He’s excited to see the guys again, and he’ll be ready,” Marsch said after he’d included Davies on