Alphonso Davies to Miss World Cup Qualifiers

Alphonso Davies, having contracted myocarditis as a result of becoming infected with COVID, has been ruled out of Canada’s upcoming Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers that are set to take place on January 27th, 2022 (@ Honduras), January 30th, 2022 (vs United States) and February 2nd, 2022 (@ El Salvador).

Canadian soccer discourse has now turned to “Can we do it without Davies?”. But this is a team that still sports Jonathan David, Ligue 1’s top scorer this season, and more importantly still sports it’s collection of world class Brampton soccer stars in Cyle Larin (Besiktas), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Doniel Henry (Suwon Samsung Bluewings), Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), Junior Hoilett (Reading FC) and Liam Millar (Basel).

Alphonso Davies is without question a global phenom and Canada’s most notable Men’s team member (still playing second fiddle to the all time leading international goal scorer, Christine Sinclair), however, the depth of the current national team is, well, DEEP. One would fully expect both Honduras and El Salvador to sit deep, which to an extent would drastically reduce the space in behind that Davies would look to exploit with his speed. The United States may be more adventurous and leave room for a fast transitional attackers but with Tajon Buchanan, Richie Laryea, Sam Adekube, Jonathan David and Liam Millar participating, it’s not as though Canada are short on speed.

Even if Canada only manage 4 to 6 points total from this next round of qualifiers, Qatar 2022 World Cup participation is all but ensured.

A Detailed Look at Alphonso Davies

While most Canadian’s are familiar with Alphonso Davies, knowing him as “that kid that went from the Vancouver Whitecaps to Bayern Munich and won some trophies”, his story is far more expansive than just that. Breaking The Lines have put together a wonderful biography of Davies early life and rise to global soccer stardom. The full article can be found here: Breaking the Lines – Player Analysis: Alphonso Davies