Ghana-born Alphonso Davies etched his name in Canadian folklore by becoming the first-ever male footballer to score for Canada at the FIFA World Cup.
The 22-year-old also holds the record for the fastest goal in Qatar so far with his 68-second header against Croatia; it is also the fastest goal in a group-stage match at the World Cup since Clint Dempsey scored for the USA after 29 seconds against Ghana in 2014 in Brazil.
The John Herdman-led side finished top of the CONCACAF qualifiers for Canada’s second-ever World Cup appearance, breaking a 36-year absence since 1986.
The Bayern Munich left-back headed the ball past Dinamo Zagreb’s Dominik Livakovic from a beautifully crafted cross from winger Tajon Buchanan after just a minute and eight seconds on the clock to give the Canadians the lead.
Davies, who moved to Canada as a five-year-old in 2005, was born in Ghana to Liberian parents fleeing from a civil war in the West African country.
He became the first player born in the 2000s to play in a Major League Soccer match.
At 16, Davies became the youngest player ever to play for the Canadian national team after passing his Canadian citizenship test in June 2017 and he also holds the record of being the youngest goalscorer in Gold Cup history; a competition played between countries in the CONCACAF region.
Although they are eliminated from the World Cup after a 4-1 loss to Croatia, Davies would be hoping to help Canada end their campaign in Qatar on a high when they face Morocco for their final group match at the Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday.
