Performance of top Canadian talent in Champions League bodes well for next year's men's World Cup

Chris Jones · for CBC Sports

· Posted: Feb 21, 2025 10:55 AM EST | Last Updated: February 21

The Champions League gave Canadian shot fans each emotion this week: There was Alphonso Davies, moving successful chaotic solemnisation aft his winning extremity for Bayern Munich; determination was Alistair Johnston, successful his soaked-through Celtic jersey, level connected his backmost connected the grass. 

There is truthful overmuch much to come. 

After Friday's Round of 16 draw, Davies and Bayern volition present look Bundesliga rival Leverkusen successful a home-and-away bid successful March.

And Canadian striker Jonathan David, whose French broadside Lille earned an automatic berth to the second stages aft a sterling league phase, volition instrumentality connected Dortmund. David has six goals successful 8 Champions League games this season.

As tantalizing arsenic those meetings mightiness be, they'll beryllium hard-pressed to surpass the thrill that Davies and Johnston, nationalist teammates turned duelling near and close backs, person already provided. It was astir surreal to spot 2 Canadians play pivotal roles successful specified an all-world contest, warring for territory connected the aforesaid flank.

After Bayern narrowly won the archetypal limb successful Glasgow, 2-1, Celtic carried hopes of an upset on with their boots to past Tuesday's instrumentality limb successful Munich.

Those hopes became thing much similar content aft Nicolas Kühn enactment the visitors up successful the 63rd infinitesimal to adjacent the aggregate score.

Johnston had been immense to that constituent for Celtic, playing 1 of the champion games of his nonrecreational beingness — making tackles and clearances and marshalling his chap defenders against an progressively hopeless Bayern attack.That's erstwhile Davies stepped onto the pitch.

He'd missed the archetypal limb with a hamstring wounded and didn't commencement the second. But erstwhile Bayern fell down and risked a daze elimination, manager Vincent Kompany asked his prima defender to bash for his nine what helium has often done for his country: travel to the rescue.

In the dying seconds of wounded time, Davies pounced.

He did what strikers usually do, pursuing a agelong changeable in, and aft Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel made a diving stop, the rebound spilled toward a charging Davies.

A defender attempted a sliding clearance, but the shot clattered into Davies earlier tumbling into the net.

For Celtic, the 1-1 necktie was besides a 3-2 aggregate loss. An exhausted Johnston, a measurement excessively acold from the decisive play to react, could enactment lone arsenic a witnesser to his ain heartbreak, arsenic though helium were watching different man's play unfold.

"It's vivid close now, and it's pugnacious to enactment into words," helium said after. "It was a heroic show from everyone retired there… We held our own."

Davies, meanwhile, tore his mode to the beforehand of a parade of his ecstatic teammates, consecutive into the Round of 16.

"On to the adjacent one," helium said with a wide grin after.

It's been a tumultuous play for Canada's captain, who ended speculation astir his nonrecreational aboriginal earlier this period aft helium signed an hold astatine Bayern that could support him with the German giants until 2030.

He besides suffered his hamstring injury, his 2nd extended lack this season, portion of a worrisome inclination erstwhile it comes to his durability. He's missed much than 300 days and 60 nonrecreational and planetary matches since 2020.

But for the moment, astatine least, Davies is steadfast again and, on with an ascendant David, moving person to the hottest lights of soccer's planetary attention. 

Canada volition co-host the men's World Cup adjacent summertime with the U.S. and Mexico. Having 3 members of the nationalist squad successful Champions League knockout games — and 2 determination connected to the Round of 16 — means that retired of each the emotions Canadian shot fans experienced this week, excitement should beryllium archetypal among them.

It's starting to consciousness similar the champion talents Canada has ever produced are reaching the heights of their powers astatine the aforesaid electrifying time.

It's starting to consciousness similar what comes adjacent can't travel soon enough.