Davies' first Canada start in 600 days lasted five minutes, and Marsch was sent off again

Alphonso Davies waited more than 600 days to start for Canada again, and the comeback lasted less than five minutes. Jesse Marsch didn't make it to the final whistle either: Canada's coach was sent off in the 63rd minute of Friday's 3-2 win in Guatemala City, the second straight Concacaf Nations League match that has ended early for him. Canada still carry a one-goal lead into Monday's second leg of the quarterfinal at BMO Field in Toronto.

It was Davies' first start for Canada since he tore his ACL in March 2025, according to TSN. Marsch put the Bayern Munich star back at left back, his old Canada role, rather than the higher position Vincent Kompany has used him in this season. While tracking back, Davies slipped on the turf, got up to try to block a shot and then sat down and signaled to the bench once the danger was cleared. He walked off on his own and was replaced by Vancouver Whitecaps center back Ralph Priso.

"It's a lower body injury right now," assistant coach Mauro Biello said after the game, per Canadian Soccer Daily. "They're gonna assess him over the next couple of days here and then we'll get a better idea of the extent of the injury once the doctor takes a good look at it." Bayern will be watching that evaluation closely, and Canada will not know untill then whether their captain has any chance of being involved on Monday.

Losing Davies forced an early reshuffle, with Joel Waterman moving to left back and Priso pairing with Real Salt Lake's Luc de Fougerolles in the middle. Canada's first half was still one of the sharpest of Marsch's 40 games in charge. Tani Oluwaseyi finished off a Jonathan David backheel in the 18th minute, Liam Millar scored on the rebound of his own shot off the post in the 28th, and David turned in a Tajon Buchanan cross in first-half stoppage time for 3-0.

David had a hand in all three. Concacaf noted that he has now recorded a goal and an assist in four different Nations League matches, tied with Guyana's Omari Glasgow for the most in the competition's history. Millar led all players with five shots and three on target, and the goal was only his second for Canada, his first since the 2023 Gold Cup against Cuba.

Óscar Santis pulled one back with a looping header in the 54th minute, his seventh Nations League goal, more than double any other Guatemalan in the competition. Ten minutes later Marsch was gone. TSN reported the red card came as a Guatemala player ran in to collect the ball near the Canada bench, between Marsch and an official. "We were just making a change and we don't know exactly what the decision was, and (the referee) showed the red card," Biello said. "So we were quite surprised."

It is a familiar scene: Marsch was also sent off in Canada's last Nations League game, the third-place match against the United States in March 2025.

De Fougerolles' stoppage-time own goal, deflecting a Matthew Evans effort into his own net, turned a comfortable cushion into a 3-2 lead. Guatemala are also the team that knocked Canada out of the 2025 Gold Cup quarterfinals, and Marsch admitted on Thursday that lesson stuck with the group. "Making mistakes like red cards and letting games slip can cost you in tournament play," he said.

The stakes on Monday are a place in the 2027 Nations League Finals in March and a direct berth in the 2027 Gold Cup. Canada need only a draw in Toronto, but they may have to get it without their captain, and with their coach's touchline status still unclear after a second red card in as many Nations League games.