Canada coach Jesse Marsch admitted his tactical approach involving Alphonso Davies backfired in the team's 2-1 World Cup 2026 group stage defeat to Switzerland

Canada coach Jesse Marsch is never one to shy away from a mind game, and he was at it once more after his side fell 2-1 to Switzerland on Wednesday, finishing second in Group B of the 2026 World Cup.

Canadian captain Alphonso Davies arrived at the tournament nursing a hamstring injury sustained during Bayern Munich's narrow Champions League semifinal defeat to PSG. He was not fit enough to feature on the bench in Canada's opening World Cup fixture, but suited up for the team's 6-0 demolition of Qatar on match day two.

On Wednesday, he was again named among the substitutes. Speaking after the final whistle, Marsch disclosed that Davies was never actually fit enough to take the field. "He was never going to play today. I wanted Switzerland to have to think about him," he said.

Marsch elaborated on his tactical thinking. "I listened to their news conference (and they) had three questions about Alphonso Davies, so they at least had to prepare for that," he said.

Davies, a significant injury concern, has not featured for Canada since lining up against the United States in a March 2025 CONCACAF Nations League match.

Swiss coach Murat Yakin acknowledged that his squad may have prepared with Davies in mind, though it hardly disrupted their game plan. "You always have to plan with the captain," he said (via interpretation).

"You have to look at different games and different styles. You have a sense of the substitutes, too.

"Of course, we looked at Davies during this tournament, but we didn't only prepare for individual players. Right now, we only react to what's happening on the pitch."

Canada's defeat means the side will miss out on hosting its Round of 32 matchup on home turf (it would have been held in Toronto had Canada secured a draw against Switzerland).

Instead, Canada will face the second-place Group A finisher — either South Korea, Czechia, or South Africa — in Los Angeles. Striker Promise David revealed that Marsch told his players postgame to "wake the ---- up.

"We're going to be in the knockout phase, which is exactly where we wanted to be," Marsch said of his team. "We still have a massive opportunity ahead of us."

Marsch delivered a lengthy response about a man he described as "the best player in our team. We will evaluate what we need of him in the game", he said.

"I would like to get him into the match, for sure. And I think that he can have a big impact, both on us physically and football-wise, but also mentally, psychologically, to have our captain back, our best player back in the team. I think this is a big factor."

Source: Alloutsoccer.com