Canada will have two midfielders making their first career FIFA World Cup as Canada faces off with Switzerland in Vancouver in a match that will determine the winners of Group B.
Longueuil, Que.’s Nathan Saliba draws in for the injured Ismael Kone, while Mathieu Choiniere replaces his former Los Angeles FC teammate Stephen Eustaquio.
Head coach Jesse Marsch said the decision to take out Eustaquio was precautionary, noting the midfielder may not have been able to play a full 90 minutes. Eustaquio, who missed the team’s training session Sunday, could still be available off the bench.
With Eustaquio out, strike Jonathan David will serve as Canada’s captain against Switzerland.
While not mathematically confirmed, both Canada and Switzerland are virtual locks for the knockout round.
Saliba, a 22-year-old Anderlecht midfielder is inserted into Jesse Marsch’s starting XI in place of the injured Kone. Kone broke his leg in the 6-0 win over Qatar last Thursday. Saliba came on in the 57th minute following Kone’s gruesome injury and scored only seven minutes later on a sublime free kick. An emotional Saliba celebrated the goal, his third senior marker, by grabbing Kone’s jersey from the sideline and holding it aloft.
Choiniere, 27, spent a season in the Swiss Super League with Grasshoppers in 2024-2025. He had a goal in 17 league appearances. His start on Wednesday will be his 24th appearance in a Canada shirt.
The rest of Marsch’s XI is unchanged from the Qatar win. Canada heads into the match needing a single point to finish atop the group. The Group B winners play their Round of 32 contest in Vancouver on July 2 against a third-place team from either Group E, F, G, I or J.
The runner-up in Group B plays on Sunday in Los Angeles. Their opponent will be the runner-up from Group A. With Mexico having already locked up the group, South Korea is highly likely to finish in second.
There is still a scenario in which Canada or Switzerland could still finish third in the group, but the chances are very remote. Should either team experience a heavy drubbing and Bosnia and Herzegovina inflict a massive defeat on Qatar in the other Group B match, the possibility exists for a third-place finish. The third-place team in Group B, should it qualify for the knockouts, would take on the United States in the Round of 32 on Canada Day in San Francisco. For that to happen, though, Bosnia would have to overturn a -6 goal differential against Switzerland and -9 against Canada.
As he was against Qatar, captain Alphonso Davies (hamstring) is available from the bench. On Wednesday, Marsch indicated that he expected the Bayern Munich left-back to play. But Middlesbrough centre-back Alfie Jones (muscular) remains out of action and will not be dressed for the match.
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CANADA STARTING XI VS. SWITZERLAND
Maxime Crepeau; Alistair Johnston, Luc de Fougerolles, Derek Cornelius, Richie Laryea; Ali Ahmed, Mathieu Choiniere, Nathan Saliba, Tajon Buchanan; Jonathan David, Cyle Larin
