{"id":514617,"date":"2026-06-28T04:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T04:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/514617\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T04:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T04:22:11","slug":"alphonso-davies-returns-as-canada-approach-world-cup-moment-of-destiny-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/514617\/","title":{"rendered":"Alphonso Davies returns as Canada approach World Cup moment of destiny | Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

The decoy days are over \u2013 apparently. Alphonso Davies made his first media appearance of this World Cup<\/a> in Los Angeles on Saturday lunchtime and promised the opening last-32 game of the tournament would be the stage for his long-awaited return.<\/p>\n

For Canada, who face fellow knockout newcomers South Africa<\/a> here in a Sunday matinee, it could not come at a more crucial time. For his head coach, Jesse Marsch, who had used Davies\u2019s fitness as an apparent ruse to distract his Swiss counterparts in Vancouver this week, it\u2019s opportune too. That gimmick didn\u2019t work. Les Rouges suffered a first defeat of their own World Cup<\/a> and were sent down south.<\/p>\n

Against one of the lowest-ranked teams to survive the group stage, Davies and Marsch have an opportunity to add another first to the pile they\u2019ve achieved this month. They can also heal a wound which opened at this same sweeping fever dream of a bowl last March. With its more traditional name then, SoFi Stadium was the scene of the ACL tear<\/a> which began both Davies\u2019s injury nightmare and a fraught relationship between the national team, its coach, captain and Davies\u2019s club, Bayern Munich. Perhaps harmony can lead to more history.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing back to this stadium, [it\u2019s] like now I get to finish something I started a year ago and really enjoy playing [here],\u201d said Davies, who hasn\u2019t featured for Canada<\/a> since. \u201cThe first time I was in this stadium it was beautiful but it was cut short. At the end of the day, that\u2019s football.\u201d<\/p>\n

The left-back has had to sit and take in too much football for his own liking of late. Davies described his watching brief throughout Group B as \u201cpainful\u201d but did provide a comedic moment when a German journalist suggested during Saturday\u2019s press conference that his return would be in Marsch\u2019s starting XI to face Bafana Bafana. \u201cStart!?\u201d chirped an incredulous Davies, who maybe needs to work on his decoy face. Or perhaps it\u2019s already of a Hollywood standard and he will lead Canada out.<\/p>\n

He is, ultimately, just one returning piece. While Canada lost Isma\u00ebl Kon\u00e9 to a sickening leg break<\/a> against Qatar they are now getting arguably their two best players \u2013 Davies and Mo\u00efse Bombito \u2013 back as the tournament moves into its most meaningful phase.<\/p>\n

Alphonso Davies<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we have Alphonso back and healthy and ready to perform, it\u2019s a big moment for the team,\u201d added Marsch. \u201cIt changes the potential of what our team is and what we can do in this tournament. The whole idea was: \u2018Can we get stronger as the tournament goes on? And as the opponents get tougher and the moments get bigger?\u2019 That\u2019s where we are right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Bombito could then he certainly should start Sunday. His pace could be essential against a South African side which burned South Korea on a number of occasions in Wednesday night\u2019s shock in Monterrey<\/a>. Thirty places may separate Sunday\u2019s foes in Fifa\u2019s rankings but Bafana Bafana arrived here with more momentum. They\u2019ll also welcome midfield maestro Teboho Mokoena back from suspension.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can say already now that the World Cup is a success for us,\u201d South Africa\u2019s veteran manager, Hugo Broos, said on Saturday. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean now that we are happy and just play the game tomorrow and go home. You want more. We will have to be on our best level. But should we achieve again and go to the third round then that should be a miracle for Bafana Bafana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mokoena is likely to slot back in beside Yaya Sithole who enjoyed quite the redemption from his opening day red card against Mexico<\/a> with a stellar display against the Koreans.<\/p>\n

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Opposite them, the status of the Canada vice-captain, Stephen Eust\u00e1quio, looms as large as that of Davies or Bombito. The Porto player was suffering from reported muscle fatigue and limited to just 30 minutes off the bench against Switzerland in Vancouver. His absence was felt acutely.<\/p>\n

Canada head coach Jesse Marsch says the return of Alphonso Davies is \u2018a big moment for the team\u2019. Photograph: Darryl Dyck\/The Canadian Press\/AP<\/p>\n

After the high of a first World Cup win with the 6-0 drubbing against Qatar<\/a>, Wednesday was a comedown for Canada and Marsch, the fitness smoke and mirrors stuff not going down particularly well in the co-host nation. Los Angeles offers the opportunity to turn a good World Cup into something great. With just a solitary match on Sunday\u2019s slate, the winner will be the first into the last 16, kicking back to watch whether it\u2019s Morocco or the Netherlands who join them in Houston.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to experience difficulty, we\u2019re going to experience success. We\u2019re going to have challenges. The key is that we\u2019re ready to rise,\u201d said Marsch. \u201cFor me I live for these moments, I\u2019m sure Alphonso would say the same. You live for the moments where you\u2019re tested and you can show how good you are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The decoy days are over \u2013 apparently. Alphonso Davies made his first media appearance of this World Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-514617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}