Alphonso Davies has opened up on the physical and emotional toll of Canada’s World Cup exit, describing the tournament as one of the most difficult periods of his professional life. Despite high expectations for the co-hosts, the Bayern Munich star was largely reduced to a spectator role as injury curtailed his involvement on the global stage.
The 2026 World Cup is well underway and so is the race for the prestigious Golden Boot - the award given to the tournament's top scorer. There's a long and winding road to be navigated as 48 nations battle for the top prize, but which star will take home the illustrious award? Here, GOAL tracks the tournament's most prolific stars.
Morocco’s World Cup triumph over Canada was marred by a serious injury to star midfielder Ismael Saibari, who was forced off early in the first half. The 25-year-old, who recently secured a high-profile move to German giants Bayern Munich, appeared devastated as he left the pitch.
Jesse Marsch struck a defiant tone after Canada's World Cup dream came to an end with a 3-0 defeat to Morocco, insisting his side outplayed their opponents for long spells, while also revealing why Alphonso Davies was left as an unused substitute for the crucial last-16 clash.
Canada pushed Morocco, but missed chances, one costly mistake, and late punishment from Azzedine Ounahi and Soufiane Rahimi ended Jesse Marsch’s historic World Cup run in Houston.
The real World Cup is finally under way! After a group phase almost completely devoid of jeopardy because of the tournament's farcical format, the first batch of knockout games treated us to some long overdue drama, with Germany and Netherlands among the big names to fall in the round of 32. A couple more heavyweights could have been kayoed too, though.
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