Canada coach John Herdman has described the emotion felt by striker Alphonso Davies when he showed up at the team’s training camp in Doha this week for Canada’s first World Cup in 36 years.

“He was blown away,” Herdman said on Saturday, looking forward to making his debut against Belgium next week. “Who wouldn’t be if you looked at an 80-foot (24-meter) poster with your image when you arrived at your hotel.”

But Davies and Canada lost some of the enthusiasm. The poster could be seen as misleading advertising if Davies is unable to play.

The young Bayern Munich star and Canada’s main reference may miss the game against Belgium due to a hamstring problem which has prevented him from playing in recent friendlies.

Herdman commented that Davies is “still working towards his top speed, but he hasn’t reached that level yet.”

“With hamstring injuries, there’s always a key moment,” Herdman added.

Herdman kept the cards but hinted he was inclined to leave him out of the Belgium engagement and take him out in better physical condition against Morocco and Croatia in Group F.

The English coach of the Canadian team acknowledged that Belgium will be the highest quality team they have faced since they faced Brazil more than a decade ago.

“We need to get a good result because it could be a long tournament for Canada,” said Herdman, feeling his side have the ability to surprise and survive the group stage.

Having Davies wrapped in cotton was already a serious problem, but two other key Canadian players are also in doubt due to injuries: attacking midfielder Stephen Eustaquio and first-choice goalkeeper Milan Borjan.

They are considered by many to be the top three in Canada.

Eustaquio is suffering from an injury, details of which have not been given. Borjan complained of abdominal pain during Canada’s 2-1 friendly win over Japan on Thursday in Dubai. Borjan did not train on Sunday.

“It’s every coach’s life,” Herdman said. “You find yourself in a dark situation on one side, but with an opportunity on the other.”

Canada is used to adversity. They finished first in the CONCACAF qualifying rounds despite repeated injuries to their figures.

They managed to win both home games against Mexico (2-1) and USA (2-0) and drew (1-1) in both away games.

“We played several games without Alphonso Davies in qualifying and we did well,” said Canadian midfielder Samuel Piette. “We want to have them. We want them to jump on the field. But at the same time, someone has to intervene.”

Piette reiterated something Herdman and other players have said: The Canadiens want to knock down the favorites.

“We want to surprise the world and show that Canada is a soccer country, a serious team,” said Pietta. “Hopefully we can start on the right foot against Belgium.”