Watch: Alphonso Davies scores Canada's first-ever World Cup goal

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Alphonso Davies missed a penalty in Canada's last game and has scored the country's first-ever World Cup strike within minutes of this

Alphonso Davies scores Canada's first-ever World Cup goal: Alphonso Davies of Canada celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match between Croatia and Canada at Khalifa International Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.
(Image credit: Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

Two minutes into Canada vs Croatia, Alphonso Davies has scored the North Americans' first-ever goal at the World Cup. 

Davies was the subject of the BBC's subtly trolling montage before kick-off, as the broadcaster started their coverage with a video that set the Bayern Munich full-back's missed spot-kick against Belgium to My Heart Will Go On – a typically Canadian song from Celine Dion but one associated with melodramatic memes, thanks to its place in the Titanic soundtrack of the late 90s.

Well, Fonzi's gone and made amends already. Canada's biggest star was actually born in a Liberian refugee camp to Ghanaian parents but becomes Les Rouges' first-ever scorer at this level after four consecutive no-shows in World Cup football. 

The goal was an exquisitely-met header from a cross over from the right flank. The Croatian defence was found to have been sleeping – or perhaps more aptly, they hadn't woken up just yet from kick-off – with the exuberant Davies celebrating wildly.

Canada headed into this game buoyed by the performance that they put in against world No.2-ranked team Belgium if not the final result. The Red Devils eventually capitalised on a long ball from Toby Alderweireld that found its way through to Michy Batshuayi but were comprehensively outplayed across the whole 90 minutes. 

John Herdman's side pressed effectively and were praised for their high-octane style but ultimately lacked the cutting edge to score against the Belgians, for all their dominance. The 1-0 loss means that Canada need to get a positive result from their final group game to be in with any chance of getting into the last-16. 

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.