Good news for Canada's World Cup team as Alphonso Davies looking stronger each game in return from injury

Bayern Munich moved closer to a Champions League trophy with a statement quarterfinal win over Real Madrid on Wednesday. More important for Canadian soccer fans, Alphonso Davies took a step — several thousand of them, in fact — toward his triumphant return to the national team in time for this summer’s World Cup.

Davies played the entire latter half of a thrilling second leg, won 4-3 by Bayern in Munich, giving the home side a 6-4 aggregate win.

Manager Vincent Kompany brought Davies in at left back after a dizzying first half that saw Real Madrid leading the game, 3-2, and level on aggregate after Bayern’s 2-1 win in the first leg. Mostly coincidentally, the game became more tactical and controlled with Davies’ arrival, until spectacular goals by Luis Diaz and Michael Olise settled it.

Davies was solid if peripherally involved; his performance mattered less than his presence. It was the most he’d played in weeks, after a stuttering return from a torn ACL that has put him in danger of missing the tournament of a lifetime.

Canada’s captain hasn’t played for the national team since March 2025, when he suffered his knee injury during a win over the United States in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Alphonso Davies vs Real Madrid<br><br>good cameo <a href="https://t.co/W8ZDSjuFAU">pic.twitter.com/W8ZDSjuFAU</a>

He returned to club soccer in December but suffered two more setbacks in short, agonizing order: first a torn muscle fibre in his thigh and then a strained hamstring that forced Davies to miss Canada’s March window and its unconvincing draws with Iceland and Tunisia.

Kompany has since eased Davies back into Bayern’s program to optimistic effect. On April 4, he came on as a late substitute, and earned a crucial assist, in a