When the Canadian national team achieved something historic very late on Sunday night (CEST), Alphonso Davies was missing from the pitch. But the darting Bayern pro was watching it live on screen.
Since his move from the Vancouver Whitecaps to FC Bayern Munich at the start of January 2019, Alphonso Davies has attracted a lot of attention – both athletically and off the field.
While the arrow-quick winger, primarily lined up as a dynamic left-back with an irrepressible drive forward at the German record champions, already has a proud 74 Bundesliga games or even 19 Champions League appearances to his name, the 21-year-old is best known on social media for his cheerful nature. Funny clips, short excerpts from his life or even live streams – Davies is up for any modern fun in front of the screen.
And so the footballer, who was born in Ghana in 2000 and subsequently fled to Canada with his parents, who originally came from Liberia, also asked his followers to join him in the live stream on Sunday evening. The reason: the Bayern professional, who is currently working on his comeback, was out for a longer period of time after a coronavirus infection with a subsequently diagnosed mild heart muscle inflammation, watched his Canadians’ World Cup qualifier against Jamaica.
1986 and 2022
After 90 minutes – the favourites and leaders in the North and Central American qualifiers were only one point off the pace – Canada were 4-0 winners. This was not only a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar this year, but also the country’s second World Cup appearance since 1986, when it was eliminated in the preliminary round in Mexico.
This joy, which had turned the stadium in Toronto into a madhouse on site, was something very special. This was also evident in Davies’ highly emotional reactions in the livestream: The young athlete had first cheered heartily, cheered loudly at goals and finally, with the certainty of the final whistle and victory, let his joy run free. Davies knelt down, put a hand to his face, pushed the chair aside, walked around, sobbed, cried, took the Canadian flag.
“Oh, my God. Yay!”
And why not? For the first time in his young life, Davies and fans of his generation around the world would get to see Canada play in a World Cup, wrote, appropriately enough, Sports Illustrated. After all, it has been 36 years since the country has been to a World Cup final. “It was clear almost immediately that they weren’t going to blow it again,” wrote the National Post after the commanding performance, in which an early 1-0 had already paved the way to Qatar.
“It’s fucking unbelievable,” said keeper Milan Borjan of the renewed participation: “Canada can be proud of these guys.”
Davies had fewer words, but summed it all up: “Oh, my God. Yay!”
