{"id":12774,"date":"2026-07-01T22:54:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/?p=12774"},"modified":"2026-07-01T22:55:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:55:01","slug":"canada-considers-starting-davies-as-marsch-looks-for-fitness-advantage-against-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12774","title":{"rendered":"Canada considers starting Davies as Marsch looks for fitness advantage against Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Canada head coach Jesse Marsch has yet to confirm whether team captain Alphonso Davies will start against Morocco in their World Cup Round of 16 match on Saturday in Houston. He indicated that their team\u2019s superior fitness could be a pivotal factor in the upcoming match.<\/p>\n<p>Davies made his tournament debut in the round of 32 victory over South Africa, where he came off the bench in the 75th minute and significantly influenced the game, helping Canada secure a 1-0 victory with a late goal.<\/p>\n<p>This marked his first appearance since March 2025, but Marsch stated that the 25-year-old is ready to start if necessary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were very pleased with Alphonso&#8217;s performance, and he feels great today,\u201d Marsch told reporters on Wednesday. \u201cHe had a significant impact on the match, and South Africa clearly respected him when he entered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will consider how best to utilize Alphonso in this game, whether he starts or comes off the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marsch praised the fitness of his squad, noting they would be tested as they train in the intense Texas heat this week. However, Saturday\u2019s match will be in the air-conditioned Houston Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooking at the running statistics from our games, we have covered significant ground and managed the matches effectively,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have outpaced every opponent, so we know we\u2019re fit. The challenge is managing our exertion, especially in the heat, to avoid overtraining our players. Considering that Morocco played 120 minutes (against the Netherlands on Monday), one of our advantages could be our freshness and fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marsch mentioned that while Canada may make minor adjustments to counter specific threats from Morocco, they will maintain their effective strategy that has brought them success so far in the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe won\u2019t alter our core identity, but we\u2019ll apply tactical adjustments to handle each opponent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile people like to box us into a 4-2-2-2 formation, we adapt\u2014sometimes playing 4-3-3 when pressing, other times using 4-2-3-1 or different formations based on the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marsch also shared his excitement about receiving messages from his childhood idol, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, which has been a highlight of his World Cup experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting daily texts from Wayne is surreal, even more than being in the Round of 16! He\u2019s very supportive of the team and asks, \u2018Do we have a chance?\u2019 And I tell him, \u2018Absolutely, let\u2019s make it happen!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Ken Ferris)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canada head coach Jesse Marsch has yet to confirm whether team captain Alphonso Davies will start against Morocco in their World Cup Round of 16 match on Saturday in Houston. He indicated that their team\u2019s superior fitness could be a pivotal factor in the upcoming match. Davies made his tournament debut in the round of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[111],"tags":[195,298,526,527,528,345,122,343],"tmauthors":[112],"class_list":["post-12774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-advantage","tag-canada","tag-considers","tag-davies","tag-fitness","tag-marsch","tag-morocco","tag-starting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Canada considers starting Davies as Marsch looks for fitness advantage against Morocco - Tanja7 English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12774\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Canada considers starting Davies as Marsch looks for fitness advantage against Morocco - Tanja7 English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Canada head coach Jesse Marsch has yet to confirm whether team captain Alphonso Davies will start against Morocco in their World Cup Round of 16 match on Saturday in Houston. 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