Le défenseur canadien Luc de Fougerolles est un véritable ‘machine’ prêt à briller lors de sa Coupe du Monde, affirment Eustaquio et Marsch.

While Moïse Bombito has won his race to be fit for his spot on Canada’s World Cup roster some uncertainty remains around how much he’ll be able to contribute in Friday’s opener. Jesse Marsch is expected instead to turn to one of the younger members of the squad to anchor the back-line against Bosnia and Herzegovina alongside Derek Cornelius.

Luc de Fougerolles, 20, already has some important appearances in the 13 caps he’s won since emerging onto the scene back in 2023 — his debut was in the playoff match against Trinidad and Tobago that earned Canada a spot at the 2024 Copa América, at that tournament he started the third-place match against Uruguay — but to be on the field for the opening whistle of a home World Cup in Toronto would undoubtedly be the biggest thus far.

His teammates have no doubt he’s ready for that spotlight.

“I’m not concerned about Luc,” dismissed Stephen Eustáquio when asked about the young defender during Thursday’s prematch press conference. “The mentality he’s shown so far really makes him fit our group very well.”

“Our teammates call him a ‘máquina’ because he really is,” he continued. “He’s a really big machine: physically, his mentality – he’s young, but he shows a lot of experience on the pitch, so I’m not concerned. He wants to prove that he’s capable of playing at this level and I think that’s what he’s going to do.”

The 40-year-old Edin Džeko, who was pictured with his shoulder strapped as Bosnia dispatched Italy on penalty kicks, is reportedly available for Friday’s Group B fixture.

De Fougerolles was asked about the possibility of lining up against Džeko earlier this week.

“We’ll look at some videos, speak to the coaches, see what the game plan is around him and the rest of the team as well, and then in the game I’ll work it out as well and see because every striker is different,” he said on Wednesday. “You adapt your game to each striker.”

He pointed to the experience garnered over this past season in Belgium with FCV Dender EH where he faced a variety of big strikers, including Canadian teammate Promise David.

“Playing games, to be honest with you,” said de Fougerolles. “Last year for the Gold Cup, I only had five or six professional games under my belt, now I’ve got 40 or so, which puts me in really good stead. I feel much more confident and much more ready to go.”

It is impressive for a player so early in his professional career to earn the trust of his manager for such a big occasion.

“He earned his teammates’ trust even before me,” replied Marsch at Thursday’s press conference. “When we went to Copa we had a lot of days where there was training with just 10, 11 players while the starters were in regen and in those days Luc was a warrior on the pitch. Every moment, even in the hottest of weather, he wouldn’t stop. He had this drive and determination to learn, to adapt, to grow, and to show the team that he could be counted on.

“We knew that we needed to develop some centre-backs. We knew that was important. I don’t think we had any idea how important it was going to become, given the situation we’ve had to deal with over the last months, but the whole way we knew that getting Luc more first team, professional minutes was going to be important,” he continued. “The move he made to Dender, although it was an unsuccessful one for the team (the club was relegated at the end of the season), it was really successful for him.”

“The key will be keeping him healthy and then giving him the opportunity to show how intelligent he is, how gifted he is, and what a competitor he is. When they say ‘the machine – La Máquina,’ that’s what they mean, they mean that this kid doesn’t stop,” Marsch underlined. “I had a feeling all along that Luc was going to find a way to get on the pitch for the World Cup. It was going to be hard to keep him out of the team sheet. He’s shown that and he’ll be ready for tomorrow.”