{"id":81194,"date":"2026-06-09T19:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/81194\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T19:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:48:09","slug":"canada-world-cup-journal-defender-johnston-touts-desire-to-be-hardest-team-in-the-world-to-play-against","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/81194\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada World Cup Journal: Defender Johnston touts desire to be ‘hardest team in the world to play against’"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 We can now count on one hand the days that must pass before Canada plays its first-ever men’s FIFA World Cup match on home soil.<\/p>\n

After prep work in Charlotte, Edmonton, and Montreal, the Canada men’s national soccer team descended upon Toronto Sunday evening looking very much ready for business in custom double-breasted suits and personalized luggage to boot.<\/p>\n

On Monday, kids from local communities attended the team’s practice session at the Toronto FC training facility near Downsview Park in North York, cheering on their heroes and screaming to their heart’s delight to try and get the attention of Alphonso Davies.<\/p>\n

Over the coming days and weeks, this Canada team will look to inspire with a deep run at the World Cup, but these are the little moments that will linger. Kids having the chance to see not just Davies but the likes of Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan, starting goalkeeper Maxime Cr\u00e9peau, and others ready themselves for the greatest sporting event on the planet.<\/p>\n

Less inspired were those commuting around 2 p.m. EDT, forced to re-route or wait an extended period as the team bus received its police escort service on the way out.<\/p>\n

Tuesday was a much quieter affair at training without the public watching, but there was big news as left-winger Jayden Nelson was officially named as the replacement for Marcelo Flores. The latter tore the ACL in his right knee last week and was ruled out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

As all of the bells and whistles start to ramp up around this team set to represent Canada for its third ever appearance at the men’s World Cup, here are the biggest takeaways from Monday and Tuesday’s training session.<\/p>\n

Motto is to be ‘hardest team in the world to play against’\"Celtic's<\/p>\n

Celtic’s Alistair Johnston applauds the fans following victory in the Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup final at Barclays Hampden, Glasgow. Picture date: Saturday May 23, 2026. (Photo by Andrew Milligan\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Andrew Milligan – PA Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Alistair Johnston is now considered one of the veterans of this Canada team. He was the starting right-back in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, and has since ascended to starting for Scottish power club Celtic F.C.<\/p>\n

He is as calm and collected as they come, has a clear future in media if he wants it, and so if Johnston’s going to make a bold statement, you can be rest assured that it comes with the belief that there’s substance behind it.<\/p>\n

Johnston made a very bold statement on Monday.<\/p>\n

“Our motto for this summer is that we want to be the hardest team in the world to play against,” Johnston said. “That’s something that’s actually very achievable for us based on our athleticism and our mentality.”<\/p>\n

Behind Johnston’s words, is a team that has been beaten once within 90 minutes in its last 17 matches and has conceded just four goals in its last 10. Two of those four came in a 2-2 draw against Iceland where Canada played with reserve centre-backs Joel Waterman and Kamal Miller.<\/p>\n

At full health, they boast tremendous pace, have been infused with irrational confidence in a way only an American could with Jesse Marsch’s stubbornly positive words, and they’re getting wiser by the day when it comes to the subtleties of this sport as well.<\/p>\n

Cancer survivor Nelson receives heartwarming call-up\"EDMONTON,<\/p>\n

EDMONTON, CANADA – JUNE 1: Jayden Nelson of Canada celebrates 2-0 during the International Friendly match between Canada v Uzbekistan at the Commonwealth Stadium on June 1, 2026 in Edmonton Canada (Photo by Dale MacMillan\/Soccrates\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Soccrates Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Brampton, Ont., continues to showcase its footprints all over the Canada men’s soccer program as Jayden Nelson was confirmed as the squad replacement for Marcelo Flores. Alongside Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin, Jonathan Osorio, and Promise David, Nelson is now the fifth player in the World Cup squad to hail from Brampton.<\/p>\n

Despite not being named to the original 26-man squad, Nelson has been part of the pre-World Cup camp in Charlotte and made the trips to Edmonton and Montreal as well. Nelson is another great example of a homegrown talent working his way to the top, having played for the Brampton youth soccer team as a child before being picked up as 14-year-old by TFC Academy.<\/p>\n

He has represented Canada at the Under-15, Under-17, and B team level before making his senior team debut in January 2020. Making his path all the more remarkable is the fact that Nelson was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer when he was just 18 months old.<\/p>\n

“It’s a dream come true, especially with a World Cup being at home,” Nelson said. “With surviving cancer and everything, it’s a big deal. It hasn’t hit me yet but it’s inspirational to a lot of people who want to do big things in life. Hopefully, I’m able to be that person for me to look up to.<\/p>\n

“For me, it’s bigger than being called up to the national team to play in the World Cup, it’s more for the kids that aspire to be something bigger.”<\/p>\n

Decision on star defender Bombito looms\"EDMONTON,<\/p>\n

EDMONTON, CANADA – JUNE 1: (L-R) Moise Bombito of Canada, Eldor Shomurodov of Uzbekistan during the International Friendly match between Canada v Uzbekistan at the Commonwealth Stadium on June 1, 2026 in Edmonton Canada (Photo by Dale MacMillan\/Soccrates\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Soccrates Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

There was some reporting on Sunday<\/a> that centre-back Mo\u00efse Bombito’s setback after playing 30 minutes against Uzbekistan would rule him out of the World Cup entirely and that he’d be replaced in the squad as a result. Marsch backed away from those claims and refused to commit to any changes until he absolutely has to.<\/p>\n

“He’s still going through a lot of little recovery issues to see if he can get himself to 100 percent but we’re giving him until the very last day \u2014 the very last minute \u2014 to give himself the best opportunity,” Marsch told TSN. “He still feels adamantly that he can prepare himself and get ready to go for the tournament.”<\/p>\n

Bombito did look to be favouring his right leg and was limited to modified training on Monday and Tuesday. Effectively, he was kept from participating in certain team activities. It is hard to imagine a scenario in which he could play against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Qatar may be a race against time, too. But Bombito can be a ceiling-raiser, and that’s the type of player who would be invaluable against Switzerland and then potentially in the knockout stages.<\/p>\n

According to FIFA rules, Marsch has until 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday to make any changes to the 26 men he named on May 29 in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

“With every day with Moise, you know how powerful, athletic, how good of a player he is,” Richie Laryea said. “He always looks good even if he’s not at 100 percent. So, yeah, I think he still looked good today, obviously, there’s gonna be a decision made on him in the next couple days.<\/p>\n

“I hope he recovers well and very fast these next three or four days, he’s obviously a very important piece of the team and we would love to have him.”<\/p>\n

Ahmed, Shaffelburg provide training boost\"TORONTO,<\/p>\n

TORONTO, ON – MARCH 28: Ali Ahmed #20 of Canada dribbles the ball during an International Friendly against Iceland at BMO Field on March 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Vaughn Ridley via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In terms of that pace and athleticism Laryea talked about, the squad received a big boost as left wingers Ali Ahmed and Jacob Shaffelburg both made their return to being full participants.<\/p>\n

Both players had been dealing with their own hamstring problems and being able to get through full training sessions on Monday and Tuesday bodes well for Marsch’s options on Friday.<\/p>\n

Shaffelburg has always been viewed as an X-factor type player off the bench, who can come in and be a difference maker with his dynamism. Ahmed fits Marsch’s system to a tee and will certainly push Liam Millar for his starting spot once his body is ramped up and capable of giving Marsch 90 minutes. That’s unlikely to be the case against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the opener, but perhaps this now becomes a possibility for the match against Qatar in Vancouver on June 18.<\/p>\n

Alphonso Davies continued to do indiviual work and he still figures to be unlikely to play on June 12. In a bit of a surprise, squad backup Ralph Priso was also on individual work after Marsch revealed he suffered a muscle strain after the match against Uzbekistan on June 1 in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

Priso was not named in the original 26-man World Cup squad but is still in the mix as a potential injury replacement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 We can now count on one hand the days that must pass before Canada plays its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[28869,2499,27295,27752,16174,32042,17,27749,52,32044,681,5311,6599,27755,11434,21637,32045,27747,27296,27289,27286,541,27293,5380,32043,21064,6371,27753,48,330,27300],"class_list":["post-81194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-2022-world-cup","tag-2026-world-cup","tag-ali-ahmed","tag-alistair-johnston","tag-alphonso-davies","tag-bombito","tag-canada","tag-cyle-larin","tag-edmonton","tag-eldor-shomurodov","tag-getty-images","tag-jayden-nelson","tag-jesse-marsch","tag-joel-waterman","tag-jonathan-david","tag-jonathan-osorio","tag-kamal-miller","tag-liam-millar","tag-marcelo-flores","tag-maxime-crepeau","tag-promise-david","tag-qatar","tag-ralph-priso","tag-richie-laryea","tag-shaffelburg","tag-steve-russell","tag-switzerland","tag-tajon-buchanan","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-fc","tag-uzbekistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}