The inclusion of Davies and Bombito represents a victory for Marsch’s selection strategy, as the coach took several gambles when naming his final World Cup roster. He opted to include three players who were not fully fit at the time of the announcement, hoping that their recovery timelines would align with the tournament’s progression. While Davies and Bombito have made the cut, Alfie Jones has been less fortunate and will miss the Qatar match with a muscle injury.
“We took some risks in how we put the squad together, hoping that we could manage all these situations to give our best players the best chance to be on the pitch with us for our most important games,” Marsch explained. “But what we don’t want to do is put players at risk… We’re trying to be very calculating.” The loss of Jones is a blow to the defensive depth, especially since FIFA regulations only allow for the replacement of injured goalkeepers once the tournament has begun.
