Alphonso Davies made his triumphant return to the Canadian men's national team and Vancouver, scoring a brace in a 4-0 win over Curacao in Canada's Concacaf Nations League opener at BC Place Thursday night.
Back where he made his professional debut as a Vancouver Whitecaps FC homegrown player, the Bayern Munich star, who missed the last six World Cup qualifiers due to a COVID-related heart issue, opened the scoring from the penalty spot after being pulled down in the box by Curacao defender Juriën Gaari.
Davies put his attempt to the left of Eloy Room in the 27th minute after the Columbus Crew goalkeeper went the wrong way.
Steven Vitória made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute, heading in from the edge of the six-yard box following service from Jonathan David, who capitalized on an attempted punch off a corner kick by Room that landed fortuitously at the Lille attacker’s feet.
Curacao, coming off a 2-1 win over Honduras in San Pedro Sula after a 1-0 loss at home to Los Catrachos in their first two Group C matches, threatened for the first time in the 57th minute. With Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan flailing for a ball in the box, Rangelo Janga saw his attempt blocked for a Curacao corner.
Davies added his second goal in the 71st minute, a left-footed tap-in after a ball cut back into the box by Richie Laryea before leaving the match to a standing ovation moments later.
Whitecaps forward Lucas Cavallini closed out the scoring five minutes from full time, crashing the net to get a touch on Samuel Adekugbe's cross.
It was Canada's first match since finishing atop the Octagonal stage of Concacaf Qualification to book a first World Cup berth since 1986. Les Rouges were scheduled to meet Panama Sunday at BC Place, but the match was canceled because of a player-led protest over compensation and other issues.
Goals
- 27’ — CAN — Alphonso Davies (PK)
- 42’ — CAN — Steven Vitória
- 71’ — CAN — Alphonso Davies
- 85’ — CAN — Lucas Cavallini
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: For the first time since the kings of Concacaf booked their berth to Qatar, Canada took the field and used their playmakers in wide areas to pick apart Curacao. They were unlucky not to lead by three or four-nil in the opening 45 minutes and cruised to the win over a Curacao team that was coming off a 2-1 win over Honduras in San Pedro Sula.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The goal that was certainly coming from Canada finally arrived in the 27th minute and fittingly, it was Davies who delivered at BC Place.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Canada are back and so, too, is Davies, who scored his 11th international goal after drawing a PK and then added a second in the 71st minute. Davies put a charge into the BC Place crowd with every touch of the ball, just as he did early in his career with the Whitecaps, and left to a standing ovation with a quarter-hour remaining.
Next Up
- CAN: Monday, June 13 at Honduras | 10 pm ET (OneSoccer in Canada; Paramount+, TUDN in US) | Concacaf Nations League
- CUW: Friday, March 24, 2023 vs. Canada | TBD (OneSoccer in Canada; Paramount+, TUDN in US) | Concacaf Nations League
