Two minutes into Canada vs Croatia, Alphonso Davies has scored the North Americans' first-ever goal at the World Cup.
Davies was the subject of the BBC's subtly trolling montage before kick-off, as the broadcaster started their coverage with a video that set the Bayern Munich full-back's missed spot-kick against Belgium to My Heart Will Go On – a typically Canadian song from Celine Dion but one associated with melodramatic memes, thanks to its place in the Titanic soundtrack of the late 90s.
Well, Fonzi's gone and made amends already. Canada's biggest star was actually born in a Liberian refugee camp to Ghanaian parents but becomes Les Rouges' first-ever scorer at this level after four consecutive no-shows in World Cup football.
What a start 😲Canada's 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 World Cup goal! 🇨🇦Alphonso Davies scores after one minute and seven seconds to give his side a shock lead 🔥📺📻📲 Watch on @BBCiPlayer, listen on @BBCSounds & get more on the @BBCSport app#BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/H8Uax2H2RTNovember 27, 2022
The goal was an exquisitely-met header from a cross over from the right flank. The Croatian defence was found to have been sleeping – or perhaps more aptly, they hadn't woken up just yet from kick-off – with the exuberant Davies celebrating wildly.
Canada headed into this game buoyed by the performance that they put in against world No.2-ranked team Belgium if not the final result. The Red Devils eventually capitalised on a long ball from Toby Alderweireld that found its way through to Michy Batshuayi but were comprehensively outplayed across the whole 90 minutes.
John Herdman's side pressed effectively and were praised for their high-octane style but ultimately lacked the cutting edge to score against the Belgians, for all their dominance. The 1-0 loss means that Canada need to get a positive result from their final group game to be in with any chance of getting into the last-16.
