Phonzy's fight to ensure World Cup doesn't pass him by

Alphonso Davies Canada GFX

There’s a running group that trots through the streets of Toronto on Monday nights, swallowing up sidewalks with expansive crowds, especially when summer temperatures take over the city. On a recent evening, the group passed outside Toronto Stadium, adorned with FIFA's World Cup branding and ready to host six games during the 2026 tournament.

This particular night overflows with soccer kits, with many runners donning Canada jerseys that read 'Davies 19' across the back. One man leans over and asks another runner if they’re a soccer fan - the response is less than emphatic, but unveils a hard truth: "I don’t love soccer, but I know Alphonso Davies." 

On Friday, just a few hundred feet from where the group took a photo earlier in the week, Canada’s men’s national team will kick-off the 2026 World Cup on home soil against Bosnia and Herzegovina, marking the first time the men’s tournament will be held in the country. Yet, Davies, the captain and the team’s biggest star, won’t be on the pitch - at least, he won’t be playing significant minutes.

Team Canada Airport Arrival - FIFA World Cup 2026

Poster boy

Davies' fame is hard to fathom. Those entrenched in Canadian soccer know the goal-scoring resumé of Jonathan David and the speedy bursts of Tajon Buchanan, but Davies is different. The Bayern Munich full-back is the only genuine household name in Canadian soccer, alongside the greatest-ever international goal-scorer, Christine Sinclair, and is held in a similar celebrity to some of the nation’s biggest cultural icons, such as hockey player Sidney Crosby and musicians Drake and Justin Bieber.

But for Canada’s most historic home match, Davies won’t be on the pitch. It’s a reality few wanted to accept as the 25-year-old battled injuries, but slowly and surely became reality in the weeks after he strained his right hamstring in the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain in early May.

Canada v Republic of Ireland - International Friendly

'Manage the group phase'

"No, he won't play in the first game. But he'll play in the tournament," Canada's American head coach, Jesse Marsch - often an optimist to a fault - told CBC's Adrienne Arsenault on the country’s largest news network, with eyes towards integrating Davies later in the tournament, potentially in the other group matches against Qatar on June 18, and Switzerland on June 24.

"We're going to have to manage the group phase and get out. I think he can be ready for sure once we get out of the group. And I think if we're smart, and good, and careful, that he can be ready for the third match in the group as well."

68th FIFA Congress

Finding a home

If it weren’t for Davies, Canadian soccer wouldn’t be where it is today, and likely wouldn’t be co-hosting the World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico.

Born in the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled the Liberian civil war, Davies emigrated to Canada as a child with two younger siblings. The family settled in Edmonton, where he blossomed into a teenage soccer phenom before joining the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS academy - a pivotal fixture of elite soccer in Western Canada - at the age of 14. 

While Davies made his professional debut less than a year later, his overall dream had been to become Canadian. In June 2017, that happened as the then-16-year-old took his oath of citizenship in downtown Vancouver before quickly joining the Canada squad for the Gold Cup. 

"It’s the first time he saw his mom cry; he was learning [aspects of] his story just as the world was, so that's when my eyes were really opened," Farhan Devji, who wrote the book 'Alphonso Davies: A New Hope,' recalled.

In many ways, Davies and his family embody the Canadian story, embracing the culture and establishing roots in the country. Davies is a massive hockey fan, as much as he is a soccer fan, music enthusiast and video game streamer - and often during the offseason, he can be found alongside NHL stars at Edmonton Oilers games. 

It all led to a fateful day in Moscow in 2018. Then, a 17-year-old with a brace-faced smile and a skinny frame, yet to fill out and become the muscular specimen he is now, stepped to the podium at the FIFA Congress and made a final pitch for the North American nations to win the 2026 hosting rights. 

"My name is Alphonso Davies. My parents are from Liberia and fled the civil war," he said. "It was a hard life, but when I was five years old, a country called Canada welcomed us in, and the boys on the football team made me feel at home.

"My dream is to someday compete in the World Cup. The people of North America have always welcomed me, and if given the opportunity, I know they’ll welcome you."

Atalanta BC v FC Bayern München - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg

Injury nightmare

Four years ago in Qatar, Davies not only realised that dream of playing at a World Cup, but it was he who scored Canada’s first goal at the men’s tournament to give his side an early lead over 2018 finalists Croatia. And though that game - as all six matches Canada have ever played at the World Cup - ended in defeat, it marked the high point of Davies' international career.

The last two years, though, have been fraught with injuries, controversy and tribulations. 

Through the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, Davies has been bitten badly by the injury bug. The last time he played for Canada was all the way back in March 2025, when he tore his ACL during the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match against the U.S.

It took him 221 days to recover, during which time he missed 39 games for club and country. Bayern, meanwhile, insisted that they would sue both Canada Soccer and Marsch over how Davies' injury was handled, although those threats never progressed further than that. 

Davies returned in December, only to suffer a torn muscle fiber in February. Two-and-a-half weeks later, he stepped off the bench at half-time of Bayern's clash with Atalanta in Bergamo, but lasted only 25 minutes before suffering from a hamstring problem.

After a couple more weeks on the sidelines, he again reappeared to play 10 further matches before suffering a reoccurrence of his hamstring strain against PSG that proved to be season-ending. In total, Davies has missed over 370 days of action in less than 15 months.

Canada v Republic of Ireland - International Friendly

'Doubt in my head'

"There was a doubt in my head, I was sad," Davies said of some of his most recent injuries and their potential impact on his World Cup participation when speaking to reporters in Montreal last week.

"From being a 17-year-old kid going to Russia and getting this World Cup to our country and not being able to participate, it dawned on me... Then again, I know how strong my body is and how strong the individuals around me are, and they’ll push me to come back as safely as possible."

Team Canada Airport Arrival - FIFA World Cup 2026

Making an impact

While Davies missed Canada’s pre-World Cup training camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, he joined the team in Edmonton in early June and has been gradually integrating himself into the group as he advances his recovery under a modified plan with a trainer. 

Still, there’s value in having Davies around and in him taking up one of the 26 spots on the roster. If he can get healthy, he’s Canada’s biggest X-factor and serves as captain, a role he has taken on since the 2024 Copa America, when Canada surprisingly reached the semifinals. 

Davies' impact, though, goes far beyond the pitch or even the squad. He’s unlike any other Canadian soccer player before him, and likely a bigger star than those who will follow. He wants to play at this World Cup, the one he helped secure, but now finds himself in a race against time, even as his replica jersey fly off the shelves. 

“I’ll give them the words of encouragement that they need," Davies added, with midfielder Stephen Eustaquio set to wear the armband in his absence. "There’s not much I can say to motivate them more. Them just being in the World Cup and being able to play in front of the country and for the country is motivation enough."