Luke Wileman: Welcome to FanDuel Race for the Roster and as the excitement continues to build ahead of the tournament opening up, it is okay to shed a tear because this is the final ever Race for the Roster with Steven Caldwell.
You never again have to hear him try to predict his 26 or his starting XI for the opening game.
So here we go.
Who is the XI that Canada will play on Friday against Bosnia-Herzegovina?
Steven Caldwell: I’ve got an obvious one here Luke. There’s no real surprises here. I think most Canadians are up to speed that have been following.
They’ll see this XI and see that it is a team that was expected.
I’ve got Liam Miller on that left-hand side. I’ve obviously got Cyle Larin and Jonathan David up top. Ismaël Koné and Stephen Eustáquio have been established along with Tajon Buchanan.
The back-four started to appear in the last few weeks with the performances and warmup games from young Luc de Fougerolles. He’ll be alongside Derek Cornelius.
The one thing I will say is I will not lock Liam Miller. He is the one guy that I’ve kept open, you all know why. I have not given up hope on Alphonso Davies until the last minute because he’s desperate to play in this game.
I don’t want to lock Liam Miller, but I’m pretty confident that he’ll probably play.
Wileman: Is there any there’s a different strike partner up there with Jonathan David?
Caldwell: Not for me, I know Larin’s been slow again for Canada in the two warmup games. I thought he was a little bit better in Montreal and a bit more involved. He actually made some good runs
He needs more consistency from the right guys, He needs the serves to come in the way that he likes it to be at his best.
I think with Canada, overall, with where Promise David’s fitness is at and though Tani Oluwaseyi has done quite well in the friendlies as well, I’ve got Larin starting and I think he deserves that chance.
Wileman: And right now Moise Bombito is still in the 26, but will he be there on Thursday afternoon when [head coach] Jesse Marsch has to lock everything in?
Caldwell: I doubt it.
I think the biggest thing is that Ralph Priso doesn’t look like he’s ready either. So do you pick a left-back in Zorhan Bassong or do you give Bombito more time?
And has Marsch, the medical staff, and the coaches seen enough that Bombito has a chance of making Games 2 and 3. There’s no way he’s making Game 1, you would have seen him train.
I think that there is a chance that he’ll stay on that squad in the hopes that he can play some minutes later on in the tournament.
Wileman: After 12 months, no more predictions now from Steven Caldwell. This brings us to the FanDuel Spotlight and Canada are the favourites on Friday against Bosnia-Herzegovina and the they are the second favourite to win Group B behind Switzerland.
It’s fun to dream of course. Canada could be found as high as 225-to-1 to win the tournament as recently as Monday. That number is now down to 175-to-1
