The five biggest questions facing Canada ahead of their World Cup opener

The Canadians will be taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina, who qualified for this World Cup via the UEFA play-offs in March. FIFA's men's world ranking puts these teams approximately 30 spots apart, with Canada the higher-ranked of the two, but Jesse Marsch will be wise to not underestimate a side that dispatched Wales and Italy in their final two matches of World Cup qualification.

With all the preparation behind them, now it's time to put forth their best effort while the world watches. But as with every other team in this World Cup, there are still questions that need answering during the matches themselves.

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Below, DAZN News lists the five biggest questions facing Canada ahead of their World Cup opener in Toronto.

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1. Where are the goals going to come from?

The top two strikers in Canada's history are likely to start together on Friday, as Jonathan David and Cyle Larin have gotten a lot of reps alongside one another in the lead-up to this World Cup.

The duo have a long, successful history together, especially in the qualification process for Qatar 2022. During that magical run, it seemed as though David and Larin could not stop scoring, and their collective ruthlessness in front of goal helped drag the Canadians to their first World Cup in 36 years.

However, at the World Cup itself the duo went cold, with neither finding the back of the net in Qatar. Things got better for David during the current World Cup cycle as he regained his scoring touch, at least for a while, but Larin hasn't scored an international goal since 2024 and during the most recent friendlies looked a shell of the player who took the EFL Championship by storm this year with Southampton.

Meanwhile, David has gone cold in 2026 for both club and country, and his two international goals this year both came from the penalty spot.

With the Canadians tallying just eight goals in their last nine matches, the issue of scoring is a big one.

2. How will the team look without Alphonso Davies?

Most fans around the world know just one player from the current Canada squad: Alphonso Davies.

The Bayern Munich man is a Champions League winner and holder of multiple Bundesliga winners medals, and his speed and dribbling have made him a well-known commodity worldwide. But Davies has missed out on a lot of action with his national team in the 15 months since tearing his ACL in a CONCACAF Nations League match, with the 25-year-old sidelined for the Canucks' 16 most recent games.

In that time, Canada lost just once, keeping true to their high-octane style and defensive solidity despite the absence of their higherst profile (and best) player.

Canada will likely be fine without Davies as they've shown an ability to adapt to his absence, but they will certainly be far less dynamic on both sides of the ball without their captain.

3. Will the defence hold up?

Speaking of defence, the Canadians have remained stout throughout Marsch's tenure as head coach. Their commitment to defending as a team is easy to see and it has paid dividends in the form of just five goals allowed in their last 10 matches.

With that being said, Canada still give up chances due to their high pressing system, some of them point-blank. Without the likes of Davies and fellow speedster Moise Bombito on the back line, a lot of their ability to make recovery runs is lost.

Maxime Crépeau bailed the team out in their final pre-World Cup friendly against Ireland with a massive breakaway save, something he's done in the past as well, but Marsch will not want to see his team giving up breakaways with such frequency.

If the back line isn't as quick as it usually is — and it's certainly not with Davies and Bombito missing — will it still withstand the pressure when the lights are brightest?

4. Will Jesse Marsch be flexible if Plan A doesn't work?

Watch any of Marsch's teams over the years and you'll notice how much he values power, athleticism, pace and aggressiveness to swarm the opposition. That's been turned up to 100 with this Canadian team, which is blessed with a number of fast and direct players who can overwhelm opponents at times.

However, the plan doesn't always work, as teams have started to pack bodies into their defensive areas of the pitch in order to limit the space that the speedy Canadians can exploit. It has led to some plodding play from Canada at certain points, and with the team's penchant to throw bodies forward there are often massive spaces in front of Crépeau for opponents to counterattack into.

The Canadians have rarely shown an ability to break down a low block under Marsch, instead relying on transition and speed of play to stretch the field and attack. That doesn't mean Canada's not capable of slowing things down and picking opponents apart — there have been rare occasions when Marsch has successfully added midfield help to take control of possession and dictate play, with the most recent example coming in the second half of the Uzbekistan friendly at the beginning of the month.

In that match, Canada ditched their regular 4-4-2 formation for a midfield trio to help establish dominance in the centre of the pitch, and it worked swimmingly as the game flipped completely in the Canadians' favour en route to a 2-0 victory (with both goals coming in the second half).

Marsch will almost certainly start with his preferred 4-4-2 against the Bosnians on Friday, but hopefully if things don't go according to plan he'll be as flexible and willing to try a Plan B as he was against Uzbekistan.

5. Will Canada be able to handle the nerves?

A World Cup match, at home, with the entire country (and world) watching. This will be the biggest stage any of Canada's players will have played on.

Yes, many of this squad were involved in Qatar less than four years ago, including several of the expected starters, but the stakes and expectations are simply much higher now. This isn't a tournament in which Canada's simply happy to be here; they are now expected to perform and gain results in front of an eager nation, despite never having earned a single point in their World Cup history.

It's a lot to shoulder, and it could weigh the players down a bit — at least in the opening stages of Friday's match.

The positive is that there will be more Canadian players who have experienced a World Cup match than the Bosnians, so the issue of nerves could affect the other side as well.

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