Alphonso Davies reflects on positives of Canada's World Cup campaign

Davies made history for Canada.
Davies made history for Canada. / JEWEL SAMAD/GettyImages
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The Canadian Men's National Team may be bringing their World Cup campaign to an end on Thursday, but there is still so much to be proud of.

Despite heading in as huge outsiders, Les Rouges pushed world No.2 Belgium all the way in their opening match, even passing up the chance to take the lead early on from the penalty spot, before eventually falling 1-0.

The CanMNT then made history by scoring their first-ever World Cup goal, with Alphonso Davies' powerful header putting them 1-0 up in the second minute against 2018 runners-up Croatia.

Of course, the vastly experienced Croatians were able to push Canada back, but the 4-1 final scoreline was still quite harsh on John Herdman's side.

Up next is Morocco, with Canada looking to make even more history by registering their first points at the competition.

Whatever happens, and with the 2026 World Cup co-hosting campaign looming large, Canada have made an impression.

"We gained a lot of new supporters around the world," said star man Alphonso Davies (via TSN). "A lot of people thought that Canada wasn't really a footballing country. Hopefully, after this tournament, we've changed a lot of minds."

Davies' goal against Croatia ultimately didn't yield any points, but it might well go down as the biggest moment in Canadian soccer history. Perhaps the announcement of the nation as a growing power in world soccer.

"When I headed it down and I ran to the corner flag, I looked to my left and I just saw all my teammates running towards me," Davies said of the chaotic goal celebrations. "Yeah, it was a great feeling. We've waited for this moment for a long time and it finally came and we were happy."

"When they all came around me, a lot of players were grabbing my jersey, pushing me, shoving me," he added. "I had Liam Millar head-butt me at one point, he was so excited. We both looked at each other and started laughing. The moment was truly amazing with these guys."


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