Facing its toughest test at the World Cup to date, Canada will have to go without its captain to start.
Alphonso Davies will not get the starting nod in the Round of 16 showdown against Morocco at the World Cup on Saturday, the team announced before kick-off.
Starting at left-back will be Richie Laryea, while Ali Ahmed gets the nod at left midfield, the position where Davies came in as a substitute in the 75th minute of Canada’s 1-0 win over South Africa in the Round of 32.
That win over South Africa was Davies’ debut at this World Cup, as the 25-year-old missed the three prior group-stage games with a hamstring injury suffered while playing with club team Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal.
“He feels really good. He had a good impact on the (Round of 32) game. More than anything, what you saw is that South Africa really respected him when he came in, and they became a little bit more passive on that side of the pitch,” Canada head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters earlier in the week. “We will be thinking about how to use Alphonso again (vs. Morocco), whether from the start or off the bench, to best suit what we want from our team and to best threaten the opponent.”
Moise Bombito will get the start at centre-back alongside Luc De Fougerolles, while Niko Sigur was named to the starting XI for the first time in place of Nathan Saliba in the midfield.
Sigur played 31 minutes in Canada’s win over South Africa, subbing in for Saliba in the 59th minute. Though the 22-year-old usually lines up as a right back for club and country, he’ll start alongside Stephen Eustaquio in the midfield double pivot.
Starting up top in Canada’s two-striker set-up will be Jonathan David and Tani Oluwaseyi.
Morocco, meanwhile, made only one change to the starting lineup it trotted out in its 1-1 penalty win over the Netherlands in the Round of 32. Crystal Palace centre-back Chadi Riad, who suffered an injury late, has been replaced by Redouane Halhal.
Canada faces Morocco in the Round of 16 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT on Saturday.