Alphonso Davies becomes the first-ever player from Concacaf to make the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World XI. This means the best men’s World XI assembled for the 2019-20 season. This is a significant accomplishment for both the Canadian men’s soccer team and the Concacaf federation. This is the first time a player from Canada or Concacaf made the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World XI. Davies was voted in as the best left-back in the world on Thursday representing FC Bayern Munich.
The FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World XI includes Alphonso Davies
Davies was the only North American player to make the initial list of 55 players. He would then go one better as he beat fellow FC Bayern Munich teammate David Alaba by 275 votes. FIFPRO represents some 65,000 pro soccer players worldwide and it is said that 15,878 of them took part in voting for the 16th edition of the FIFPRO Men’s World XI. Davies is also the third-youngest player to be voted into the men’s World XI.
OFFICIAL: The @FIFPro Men's World XI:
🇧🇷 Alisson Becker
🏴 Trent Alexander-Arnold
🇳🇱 Virgil van Dijk
🇪🇸 Sergio Ramos
🇨🇦 Alphonso Davies🇩🇪 Joshua Kimmich
🇧🇪 Kevin De Bruyne
🇪🇸 Thiago Alcantara🇦🇷 Lionel Messi
🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski
🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo#TheBest— ∃M (@ogy_emy) December 17, 2020
This is what Davies said about the accomplishment:
“Christmas came early this year,” Davies said on social media. “Thank you to everyone who voted for me. Keep working hard and chasing your dreams.”
Davies had a terrific year for FC Bayern Munich. So much that it has got the attention of his teammates. This includes a game in the UEFA Champions League where FC Bayern Munich won 3-0 over Chelsea.
“He’s blessed with an incredible sprint, the kind we haven’t had at Bayern for a long time,” declared an impressed Thomas Müller, who also put in a fine performance against the Blues. “He fully deserved the applause from the fans at full-time. Since he’s been here, he’s learned a great deal, tactically speaking. It was a world-class performance.”
He has been with Bayern since 2018 and has scored four goals with the team. The former Vancouver Whitecaps FC product, Davies is now leading the way for the golden age of Canadian men’s soccer.
Overview of what this means for the Canadian Men’s National Team
This is a big deal for Davies and the Canadian men’s national team. One also needs to add the other accolades Davies has gotten this year. He also received the Canadian Men’s Player of the Year and was a co-winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy. The Lou Marsh Trophy presented by the Toronto Star is given to the Canadian athlete of the year.
All these accomplishments occurred because of Davies’ performance with both the Canadian men’s national team and FC Bayern Munich. He and Jonathan David are leading the way for the Canadian men’s national team at the club and national level. Lastly, this is a good sign as the Canadian men’s national team will start their World Cup qualification in March of next year against Bermuda. They have a chance to make the final stage of Concacaf World Cup qualifying for the first time since 1998 and to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Alphonso Davies and Super Bowl winner Laurent Duvernay-Tardif were named co-winners of the Lou Marsh Trophy for Canada’s athlete of the year 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/d0qGd6OXpW
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) December 9, 2020
