Buduburam-born Alphonso Davies scores Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal

From a refugee camp in Ghana to Qatar 2022, Alphonso Davies on Sunday gave Canada its first-ever goal at the men’s Fifa World Cup.

The wing-back was born in Buduburam, a refugee camp in the Gomoa East District of Ghana to Liberian parents who fled civil war in their country. His family emigrated to Canada when he was five and only received his Canadian citizenship in June 2017.

Davies – who plays for Bayern Munich – went on to commit his international future to Canada.

Facing Croatia, Les Rouges entered their second match of the 2022 World Cup without a goal in men’s national team history, especially after Alphonso Davies saw his penalty kick saved in their opening match against Belgium.

But the 22-year-old wasted little time on Sunday changing that.

With fans still getting comfortable in their seats at Al Rayyan Stadium, Les Rouges caught the 2018 runners-up completely off-guard with a lethal counterattack. The amazing sequence had forward Cyle Larin linking up with Tajon Buchanan, who served up a perfect cross that Davies flew through the air and headed into the back of the Croatia net.

The historic goal solidifies Alphonso Davies as Canada’s big-game star, while also providing redemption for his penalty kick miss during their 1-0 opening loss to Belgium.

And at exactly 68 seconds, it’s the fastest goal so far at the 2022 World Cup – and the fastest since former USA star Clint Dempsey scored after 29 seconds against Ghana at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

But the early lead meant nothing as Croatia rallied back to win 4-1, putting Canada out of contention for a spot in the knockouts.

Canada is making only its second appearance at the men’s Fifa World Cup. The first came in 1986, where the team exited with three first-round defeats in Mexico.

With two defeats so far in Group F of Qatar 2022, Canada are still chasing their first point at the Mundial. They next face Morocco – who stunned Belgium 2-0 – in their final group game.