Injured Canadians – Liam Millar and other recovering players say they’re progressing faster than expected as Canada builds toward its World Cup opener. Coach Jesse Marsch will cut the roster from 32 to 26 on Friday after a first Charlotte session hit by a lightning delay.
Liam Millar’s celebration barely had time to cool.
Less than 72 hours after helping Hull City beat Middlesbrough in the Champions League playoff final on Saturday, the midfielder was already in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Canada’s national team. The moment arrived in fragments—enough to savor, but not enough to linger.
“I got my moment. Yeah, I had my moment,” Millar said. “But a home World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I made sure I switched my focus very quick to this moment. And once everything’s all done, everything’s over, I’ll take my time, and I’ll celebrate that rightly.”
Millar is one of 32 players on Canada’s training camp roster ahead of next month’s FIFA World Cup. Head coach Jesse Marsch is set to cut the group down to 26 on Friday, a decision that hangs over every practice—while the players at camp insist the mood is still about earning minutes together.
“We’re all going to push each other as much as possible to try and make that roster,” Millar said. “But this group is really selfless. This group really just wants what’s best for this team. and whoever ends up making that roster. we’re all going to be there supporting each other for whoever didn’t.”.
Defender Richie Laryea echoed the tone early in camp, when the hard part is still mostly ahead rather than under your feet. Canada players had been together for just over 24 hours, and the excitement has outweighed the pressure.
“I think everyone’s just excited to get together,” Laryea said. “We’ve been together for maybe just over 24 hours, so I think the excitement levels to be back in camp to be competing.”
He pointed to players who weren’t supposed to be in the conversation—Jayden Nelson and Ralph Priso—saying both were previously not expected to be here and now have “a very good shot at making it onto the World Cup team now as well.”
Tuesday marked the first full training session for the majority of the group in Charlotte. The heat was already punishing—sticky 28 C—when the weather turned on them. As the team warmed up. rain began to pour. and midway through training players were forced inside for a 30-minute pause after a nearby lightning strike.
“A little bit frustrating if this keeps happening,” said defender Alistair Johnston. “But at the same time we’ve got nowhere else to be, so we can stay out here as long as needed to get the work done. But, yeah, obviously not an ideal start to a week here.”
The disruption didn’t erase what camp needed from day one. Laryea said the session still delivered the basics that matter when you’re trying to get bodies ready quickly—flushing tired legs, getting people moving again, and returning to the ball.
“I think we got to get flights out of guys’ legs, tiredness, some guys got to (regenerate),” Laryea said. “I think we got to get on the ball, we got to compete, we got to run around, so I think it’s pretty good for a first day.”
Canada’s decision to base its camp in Charlotte isn’t an accident. Marsch said the plan was to acclimatize players to the kind of weather they could face later in the tournament, while also using home advantage to keep focus tight.
“We came down to Carolina to put them in higher heat, higher temperatures, more humidity,” Marsch said on Monday. “As well as — I think with the home World Cup — create a little bit more of an isolated environment where we can focus a little bit more on preparing the team for exactly what we want.”
For players working back from injuries, the camp has become more than preparation. It’s proof of timing.
Many in the group—including Laryea—are returning from physical setbacks, and they’re hoping to reach full fitness before Canada begins its World Cup campaign against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12.
Captain Alphonso Davies is not in Charlotte as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Marsch said Davies is expected to join the squad in his hometown of Edmonton ahead of a tune-up match against Uzbekistan on June 1.
Seeing injured players on the pitch on Tuesday gave Marsch and his staff a clearer picture of what’s possible as the deadline for the final squad approaches.
“A lot of the injured guys, I think, are progressing ahead of schedule,” Marsch said. “And better than we had hoped, which I think then gives us a little bit more of flexibility.”
That flexibility matters because the camp roster isn’t static. With Marsch cutting from 32 to 26 on Friday, each recovering player’s status becomes a statement—not just about readiness, but about options.
Johnston said getting back with teammates isn’t only about fitness. It’s also about form, and the mental edge that comes with timing your return.
“You want to be playing not just for fitness, but also for form,” Johnston said. “You don’t want to be coming into the biggest tournament of your life feeling like you’re underprepared. It’s no different than coming into a final exam as a student or something like that. You want to feel like you’re ready for the test. And obviously June 12 is going to be a massive test.”.
For Johnston, that test has been personal. Questions lingered about whether the 27-year-old Celtic defender would be able to return after hamstring surgery.
“For me. I was looking at this year with how it went. if I could be here fully fit was about maybe as good as I could ask for. ” Johnston said. “And the fact that I’m here now and I’m feeling really strong. is something that. if you told me three months ago was going to be the case. I would have snapped your hand off for it.”.
In Charlotte, the group is learning how to train through weather, and how to train while time runs forward. For Canada. the biggest week of the year is already set in the calendar—June 12 in Toronto—and the recovering players at camp are pushing to make sure their bodies. and their place in the squad. are ready when the real work begins.
Canada national team FIFA World Cup training camp Charlotte Liam Millar Jesse Marsch Alphonso Davies Richie Laryea Alistair Johnston hamstring injury Bosnia-Herzegovina Uzbekistan tune-up Jayden Nelson Ralph Priso Hull City Middlesbrough