World Cup 2026: How Juventus Stars McKennie and David Are Shaping Up for Tournament on Home Soil
World Cup 2026: How Juventus Stars McKennie and David Are Shaping Up for Tournament on Home Soil The 2025/26 football season might be coming to a close in Europe, but excitement is building as the 2026 World Cup draws near. And two Juventus players, Jonathan David and Weston McKennie, will be shouldering the hopes of two host nations this summer. Both will play key roles for the United States and Canada, albeit in very different ways.
Fans will hope that their respective teams can impress on the world stage, despite sportsbooks offering long odds on both countries when examining who has the best chance at winning the World Cup . To cause any major upsets, they will need established internationals like David and McKennie at their absolute best. However, the Juventus pair have endured very different seasons in Italy.
With just weeks to go until their opening matches, each player has a different challenge in front of them that they need to overcome if they are to make a significant impact. Jonathan David – In Need of Form Quickly Although he has featured in 34 Serie A games over the course of the season, Jonathan David has left a lot to be desired since moving to Juventus in the summer of 2025. A hot streak at the start of 2026 saw him score four times in five matches, but he has found the back of the net just once since scoring against Parma on February 1.
Canada’s record goalscorer has been given several opportunities to improve that tally, both as a starter and from the bench, but he has not made the required impact. He has missed 13 big chances this season – more than any other Juventus player – and, even more concerningly for Jesse Marsch, his star attacker has seen his minutes dwindle recently. He was an unused substitute in Juventus’ 2-0 loss against Fiorentina and only played seven minutes against Lecce.
A lack of form and match sharpness hardly makes for an ideal combination as Canada make their final preparations for the group stages. But David remains a potent threat for his country, notably scoring twice against Iceland in March. He will need to make the most of warm-up games against Uzbekistan and the Republic of Ireland to hit the ground running at the World Cup and put a frustrating first year in Turin behind him.