Alphonso Davies #19

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When Davies moves his feet, he flies – and it certainly felt like he had wings when he leapt to head home Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal in 2022. “When I ran to the corner flag, I looked to my left and I just saw all my teammates running towards me. When they all came around me, a lot of players were grabbing my jersey, pushing me, shoving me. I had Liam Millar headbutt me at one point, he was so excited. We both looked at each other and started laughing." It made a big impact in the stands, too: his parents, who had fled the civil war in Liberia to Ghana, where Davies was born in a refugee camp, before finding safe haven in Canada, were in the stadium watching. “They told me how proud they are of me and when I scored the goal, my mother teared up a bit. My parents are people of few words, they don't really say too much. But it really showed on their faces.” Back in 2018, aged 17, he gave a speech about his background to Fifa delegates in Moscow as part of the Canadian bid to host this World Cup. Davies then joined Bayern Munich from Vancouver Whitecaps, blossoming into one of the world’s best left-backs, and winning everything available to him along the way.

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