All posts tagged: Jonathan David

The refugee sons who carried Canada into the World Cup last 16

The refugee sons who carried Canada into the World Cup last 16

Published by Webster

Debeah Davies remembers the guns — not the crack of them, but their presence as a fact of daily life in Monrovia, the way they organised everything. You ate according to them. You moved according to them. You knew whether your children would survive according to them. When the Second Liberian Civil War came to his family’s doorstep, Debeah and Victoria fled to Buduburam, a refugee camp in Ghana. They built a life in a tin hut not much larger than a minivan. Their fourth-youngest child was born there, on November 2, 2000, and given the name Alphonso. Less than one percent of the world’s refugees are resettled every year. In 2005, Debeah’s family were among that fraction. A country called Canada said yes. They went to Edmonton, where a shy boy with broken English started kicking a ball with the other boys because that was the one language everyone already spoke. *** On Sunday, at Los Angeles Stadium, Alphonso Davies — captain of Canada, Champions League winner, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, former resident of the …

Horror Ismael Kone injury sours Canada’s historic win

Horror Ismael Kone injury sours Canada’s historic win

Published by Webster

4 min readJun 19, 2026 02:03 PM IST An emphatic maiden win, 40 years after Canada’s World Cup debut, should have led to festivity across the host nation. Instead, concern and anxiety filled the air following a bone-snapping injury to Ismaël Koné in the second half. Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo’s reckless and late tackle from behind marred Les Rouges’ 6-0 victory in Vancouver on Friday. Madibo was sent off and he later apologised to Koné, but the damage was done: the 24-year-old had to be stretchered off and rushed to a local hospital, where he was preparing for surgery. Canadian players almost came to blows with Madibo and Co on the pitch meanwhile, reflecting their angst as Koné was cruelly ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. The scuffle resumed after the full-time whistle with coaches Jesse Marsch and Julen Lopetegui having a run-in. Hat-trick scoring striker Jonathan David plainly called out the tackle after the match. “If there’s a play where you cannot win the ball, there’s no point,” he said. “It’s just …