TORONTO – Promise David has learned the hard way what it’s like playing against Canada’s youngest World Cup player, 20-year-old centre-back Luc de Fougerolles.David is Canada’s most physically imposing player, a hulking and physical centre-forward. And de Fougerolles? His charming smile lights up rooms, but his blonde bowled haircut also resembles most teenage haircuts you’d see strolling through any suburban mall.But whether in Canada training sessions or in Belgium’s first division where the two played against each other this season, David has met his match in de Fougerolles. A crunching tackle – not the kind young players usually throw – is never far away with de Fougerolles.“Whenever I’m playing against (de Fougerolles), I’m always careful about my well-being,” David said Tuesday. “Because I don’t think Luc gives a f**k about anybody’s Achilles or bones or anything.”David knows what those around the Canada squad have learned: Luc de Fougerolles does not play like a 20-year-old. Raised in Fulham’s academy, he was a virtual unknown in Canadian soccer less than three years ago. There was a time in 2025 when De Fougerolles had played more games for Canada than in senior club soccer. His last season on loan with Dender in Belgium was his first full professional season.This is not the type of player an international head coach generally turns the keys over to in a World Cup opener.Despite being the youngest player on Canada’s World Cup team, a change in plans will likely see Jesse Marsch and the hopes of an entire country rely on de Fougerolles in a surprise way: on Friday, in the biggest game in Canadian soccer history.De Fougerolles is trending towards starting at centre-back for Canada’s World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12.20-year-old De Fougerolles could start in Canada’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina (Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)Moise Bombito, Canada’s best centre-back, has not recovered from a broken leg the way Canada had hoped. In training on Tuesday, Bombito once again did not move with the power he has shown at his best. He struggled to take tight turns in warm-up sprinting activities. Bombito is doing everything to force the coaching staff’s hand. He wants to play.But closing time at the bar is near. A decision on Canada’s lineup needs to be made, if it hasn’t already been. De Fougerolles came in for Bombito as the only change in Marsch’s starting lineup over Canada’s two final World Cup tune-up games.So is gambling on his youngest player as a starting centre-back the right move for Marsch?Often at the World Cup, a team’s youngest player is utilized sparingly off the bench or as an injury replacement. At the 2022 World Cup, Canada’s youngest player was Ismael Kone, then 20. Kone appeared only as a substitute in the midfield.Starting at centre-back, one of the most important positions on the pitch, for a team whose defensive sturdiness is part of its DNA? That’s different. If Canada must play knockout round games in the United States, De Fougerolles would not legally be allowed to celebrate with a post-game adult beverage.