World Cup playoffs: With Davies leading the way, now no one is laughing at Canada

Alphonso Davies says his Bayern Munich teammates have mocked him for being a Canadian footballer who is crazy about hockey and, although he shares the laughter, due to his good nerves, his goal is not to make his country the butt of the world. Round jokes.

For decades, when it comes to international football, the Canadian men’s national team has only given bad jokes about qualifying for the World Cup when they didn’t score a point or score a goal in 1986.

But no one is laughing now that undefeated Canada, led by Davies, is still looking for a place in next year’s Qatar World Cup in the CONCACAF regional playoffs in Edmonton on November 12 against Costa Rica and Mexico four days later.

“They’re jokes and I understand that, but for me I sometimes take it personally and want to prove that we’re getting better every time I come home,” 21-year-old Davies said at a news conference. Thursday.

“The goal for me is to get into the World Cup and maybe face some of my teammates and show that we can compete with you here as well.”

Davies, who plays for Bayern’s left-back but can play later, leads the charge, with Canada having been the surprise pack in the last round of the eight nations known as the Octagon, as the only team not to join Mexico.

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The Mexicans are 14 points behind, the United States with 11, Canada with 10 and Panama after eight six-pointers.

The top three qualify for Qatar by 2022, and the fourth-ranked team enters an intercontinental knockout round.

“I feel like this team is opening some eyes and we can get into the World Cup,” said Davies, who has 10 goals in 28 games with Canada.

“When I started the trip we knew the trip wasn’t going to be easy. They say Canada is a hockey country, but we want to change that.”

It will be cold at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, and temperatures will drop below freezing in both games.

“The weather will be a challenge for Canadians as well, but especially for Costa Rica and Mexicans,” Davies added. “We Canadians are used to it, so we hope the weather is on our side.”

A former refugee who settled in the Edmonton family, the two games will return home to Davies, who expects about 40,000 fans for each game including his family and friends.

“Since I left Edmonton, this is the first time I’ve been coming back and playing in front of the city,” Davies said. “These two games are very important for us. It really fits us if we get six big points.

“We know it’s not going to be easy, especially Costa Rica and Mexico; these two teams are good teams and we guys know that.”