Why Alphonso Davies missing 2026 World Cup opener is huge blow to host Canada originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Although he is one of the best left-backs in the world when healthy, Canadian star Alphonso Davies has been on the receiving end of an unfortunate career injury history. While he hasn't played to close out Bayern Munich's season or in Canada's most recent friendlies, it has now been revealed that Davies will miss Les Rouges' first group-stage game.

Coach Jesse Marsch shared with Canadian news source CBC that Davies will eventually play, just not against Bosnia and Herzegovina next week.

The defender has been dealing with a hamstring injury since May and has missed Munich's closeout from another trophy-winning season in the Bundesliga.

Here's the latest on Canada's captain being absent for their opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Alphonso Davies injury details

In an interview with CBC, Canadian national team coach Jesse Marsch announced Davies will be held out of the country's opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12.

"No, he won't play in the first game. But he'll play in the tournament," Marsch said to CBC's Adrienne Arsenault. "We're going to have to manage the group phase and get out. I think for sure he can be ready once we get out of the group. And I think if we're smart, and good, and careful, that he can be ready for the third match in the group as well."

Davies injured his left hamstring during Bayern Munich's Champions League semifinal second bout against Paris Saint-Germain earlier last month (May 6). He was originally reported to miss several weeks, and did not play in the team's German Cup final match against Stuttgart or any of Canada's recent friendlies.

Marsch said the team will take Davies' status "step by step," but urged that the team's captain will be ready for World Cup play after the first group-stage game concludes.

Will Alphonso Davies play in World Cup?

According to Coach Marsch, Davies will participate in the first World Cup on Canadian soil ever. 

While he won't play in the team's opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Davies should be able to return. After that first game, the next game he could return to would come on June 18, when Les Rouges face off against Qatar in Vancouver.

Canada World Cup schedule 2026

Canada is slated to play in Group B. In that group are two UEFA teams, along with an Asian Football Confederation squad.

Here is Canada's group-stage schedule, beginning next Friday:

Alphonso Davies injury history

While he has been one of the best left-backs in the world when he is healthy, Davies has unfortunately been subject to a variety of injuries throughout his career.

Here is a rundown on the Bayern Munich player's history on the sidelines, according to Transfermarkt:

Inside Nike's World Cup commercial: Here's every celebrity cameo in viral ad with Kim Kardashian, more originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Many soccer fans can recount Nike's iconic "Winner Stays" advertisement from the 2010 World Cup. Ahead of this summer's World Cup, the company may have outdone itself.

An ample amount of the game's best, along with Travis Scott, Kim Kardashian, and other A-list celebrities were featured in an advertisement for the ages. Just 24 hours after its original airing, the video already has north of 16 million views on the company's X, formerly Twitter, page.

Here is the list of names in Nike's ad ahead of the biggest sports event in the world.

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Nike World Cup commercial

On June 4, Nike released their ad for this summer's World Cup, which it titled "Rip the Script." Saying the cast was a star-studded roster is almost underselling it. Here is the advertisement posted on the company's X, formerly Twitter, page that has garnered 16 million views in 24 hours.

It was all going to plan until instincts took over…

Rip The Script pic.twitter.com/la43icZaAu

— Nike (@Nike) June 4, 2026

In the commercial, soccer players and celebrities are setting up to create their own advertisement. After the opening segment, the fake commercial's director gets visibly angry that Kylian Mbappe does a bicycle kick instead of a header in the fake recording. After the rest of the cast (Kim Kardashian and Travis Scott, to name a few) a ball gets kicked in Spanish wonderkid Nico Williams' way, he gives Mbappe a look that says without words, "Let's have some fun."

The cast of soccer players begins dribbling and running through a series of recording studios and links up with other football players and worldwide celebrities.

Who's in the Nike World Cup ad?

Some of the world's biggest names were featured in this historic Nike advertisement. Some faces have been seen by many before, while others may need a bit of research before reaching familiarity.

Here is the list of celebrities and soccer players who appeared on the commercial:

Celebrities

• Kim Kardashian and Saint West (0:46): The son-mother duo made a brief appearance on the commercial by walking into the studio to be featured in the fake advertisement.
• Travis Scott (0:52): The famous American rapper appeared twice in the recording. In his first appearance, Scott seems frustrated that the recording for the fake ad is taking so long, saying "I ain't even got one minute - what we doing? The kid's ready, I'm ready."
• Channing Tatum (1:04): The actor appears multiple times in the Nike ad while rocking a blonde ponytail. He looks to be serving as a Erling Haaland-lookalike, and was sitting next to him during the commercial.
• LISA (2:04): As one of the members of KPOP group Blackpink, LISA is very well-known around the world. During the Nike ad, Raul Jimenez asks if he get can her signature on a soccer ball.
• Kate Scott (2:15): The CBS soccer broadcaster made a brief appearance in a setup broadcast desk with Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. While giving commentary about Mbappe needing to pass more, the group is interrupted by Mbappe and Nico Williams chasing after the same ball from before.
• Young Miko (2:54): The Puerto Rican singer first made her appearance next to Travis Scott at the advertisement's rough halfway mark. She too was getting frustrated with how long the fake ad shooting was taking, saying in Spanish, "You said this was going to take five minutes.
• LeBron James (3:22): Yes, that's right. LeBron also made his appearance in the Nike ad. He was in a conference room with Cristiano Ronaldo, as the two argued over who should be featured in a madeup "The GOAT's Goodbye" script. The duo kept passing the script back and forth, neither wanting to own up to the title.
• Central Cee (4:22): The U.K. rapper also entered the stage as a commercial participant. He was seen in a staged music video for his song "Iceman Freestyle" with England footballer Cole Palmer, whose nickname is "Cold Palmer."
• Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso (4:52): Everyone's favorite soccer manager made his presence known near the end of the advertisement. He wanted to get in on the chaos of everyone running around, asking, "This looks fun, what y'all shooting?"

Soccer players

While many players who will be seen at this summer's World Cup made their appearances in the Nike advertisement, other players from former footballing generations also got some screentime.

Here is a rundown on which players, past and present, can be seen in the ad:

• Kylian Mbappe and Nico Williams (0:07): Two of the biggest names from the 2022 World Cup were the first two major names to be seen in the Nike advertisement. They were seen together repeatedly, eventually chasing a soccer ball around a massive recording studio.
• Vinicius Jr. (0:31): The Brazilian star was first seen reacting after Mbappe gave him a look due to the fake ad's director losing his head at the fact the French player was refusing to head the ball. Vini had several other appearances in the real advertisement.
• Bruno Fernandez and Raul Jimenez (0:36): The Portuguese-Mexican player duo were also standing around starstruck at how the director reamed Mbappe out. Fernandez also had a few major shots in the ad, along with Jimenez battling with the next name on the players' list.
• Tyler Adams (0:38): The American midfielder was the lone player from the Stars and Stripes team that was featured on the Nike ad. He too joined the entourage of players chasing after the ball, and was featured in a role at 3:40 attempting (keyword: attempting) to tackle Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Jamal Musiala (0:40): The young German was featured on the phone talking to someone about his dismay with how long the fake ad was taking to record. "It's taking so long, honestly," while also answering "The director" when asked about what the problem was.
• Virgil van Djik (0:47): The big Dutchman was featured multiple times on the ad, including doing a double take when Kardashian arrived at the studio. Later on in the ad, around 3:51, van Djik runs at Ronaldo in a dramatic scene trying to slide tackle the Portuguese icon. Unlike Adams, he succeeds in dispossessing him.
• Federico Valverde (0:51): The Real Madrid and Uruguayan star was seen briefly shaking his head at the fake advertisement director's theatrics. Around 1:09, he dribbled a ball out of a recording studio room, but was dispossessed by Vini Jr.
• Erling Haaland (1:04): Along with leading Norway to their first World Cup since 1998s, Haaland received a significant amount of screentime in the Nike ad, along with lookalike Channing Tatum. Haaland repeatedly kept telling Tatum to wait on the fun, before leaving him in the dust while the two meditated, a hint at the Norwegian star's goal celebration.
• Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2:15): Along with Kate Scott, the two former footballing giants were pictured in a mock broadcast desk setup. After Scott made a comment about Mbappe needing to pass more, Drogba responds, "Well, I think that's a ridiculous thing to say. I mean..." before who else but Mbappe, and Nico Williams, crashed the studio. After the two current players ran out of the frame, Ibrahimovic stood up and exited as if he was Batman answering a call in Gotham, saying, "Zlatan will be back." The former Swedish star also was on the fake pitch at 5:30 during the final standoff featuring all of the players.
• Eric Cantona (2:31): The former French star was recording a movie or advertisement on his own, as he muttered the line "When the seagulls follow the...," which was a play at his infamous quote after he kicked a Crystal Palace fan in the head in 1995 ("When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea").
• Cristiano Ronaldo (3:22): The Portuguese all-timer had ample showing in the Nike ad. Along with being featured with LeBron James, the biggest name out of the country of Portugal, ran onto a fake movie set and walked out of a building that had just exploded unscathed. Ronaldo setup quite the "hero shot" in that scene, along with the instrumental version of "Still D.R.E." by Dr. Dre. 
• Cole Palmer (4:26): While his showing was brief, Palmer did get to suit up next to his U.K. rapper friend Central Cee. Despite showing up in the Nike ad, the Chelsea attacker did not make England's final roster for this year's World Cup.
• Alexa Putellas (4:49): The Spanish footballer and two-time Ballon d'Or Féminin award winner was briefly seen sitting in the back of a cart watching the chaos ensue.
• Rodrygo (5:14): The Brazilian winger was also briefly seen near the end of the ad, but he too will be missing the World Cup. The Real Madrid star fell victim to a torn ACL and ruptured meniscus in his right knee in March.
• Ronaldinho and Jorge Campos (5:36): The older crowd of viewers will be familiar with these two. Ronaldinho, with his traditional long hair, and Campos, with his iconic vibrant goalie jacket were two of the biggest names in former World Cups.