Canada bet on health, speed and belief as Marsch names World Cup squad

The only surprise is that we were surprised. In his final moments of deliberation Jesse Marsch looked at the options in front of him and chose speed. Why change the habit of a lifetime? Jacob Shaffelburg was the final winner on Friday night as Marsch named his 26-man World Cup squad in a primetime TV address to the co-host nation. The LAFC winger was likely Mr 26 as Canada’s American head coach cut six names from a group of 32 he’d named earlier in the week. Fitness, particularly in defense, was the factor which had forced Marsch to bring the expanded group to camp in Charlotte. Most acutely, the health or otherwise of captain Alphonso Davies occupies so many Canadian thoughts and will continue to do so. The Bayern Munich man didn’t make it as far as North Carolina but will join his 25 teammates on home soil in the coming days. In his late shuffling Marsch stacked defense and midfield and named four strikers. Nonetheless he’s adamant that the slew of health issues won’t affect his squad on their mission to deliver history at home. “Guys are getting healthy, I promise you,” said Marsch. “The reason we put this squad together is because these guys are all trending in the direction, they’re looking ready to go. We have really our best group of 26 players that this country has ever assembled at any one time.” Goalkeepers It is both a quirk and a concern that the one area of the roster which was fully known ahead of time also contains Canada’s biggest unknown. …