Canada begins its final stretch before the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday night with Canada vs Uzbekistan at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, a tune-up that will give Jesse Marsch one last look at parts of his squad less than two weeks before the tournament opens. Maxime Crépeau, the 32-year-old Orlando City veteran, will start the first half, while Dayne St. Clair is set for the second.
The match kicks off at 9pm ET, with pre-game coverage starting at 7pm ET on TSN Network, TSN.ca and the TSN App. Canada also plays Ireland on Friday, giving the team two friendlies in one week as it tries to settle details before the World Cup begins. The timing matters because Canada still has work to do, and Marsch has until June 11 to name a replacement for Marcelo Flores after the Tigres UANL midfielder ruptured his ACL in the Concacaf Champions Cup final on Saturday night.
That roster puzzle is only part of what Canada is carrying into Edmonton. Richie Laryea is back in the lineup after missing recent Toronto FC games with a thigh injury, and Moïse Bombito is expected to get minutes as he continues working back to full form after fracturing his tibia in October while playing for Nice. Ali Ahmed and Jacob Shaffelburg are both out with injuries, which limits how much of the group can be judged in a straight comparison with the team Marsch hopes to take into the World Cup.
Alphonso Davies is expected to arrive in Edmonton around 11pm, but he will not play against Uzbekistan because of a hamstring injury suffered with Bayern Munich. His availability for Canada’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 remains uncertain, and that is the part of the week that hangs over everything else. Marsch has told players not to read too much into the lineup choices, but for a team this close to the tournament, every missing name carries weight.
Rain is expected to continue through Monday in Edmonton, which feels fitting for a night that is less about the spectacle than the audit. Canada has one more friendly after this one, one more chance to sort out a replacement for Flores, and one more opportunity to see whether Davies can make the opener. If he cannot, the first World Cup match will arrive with one of the team’s most important players still somewhere between the training room and the field.
