Canada’s Tani Oluwaseyi, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal against Guatemala during a CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal first-leg match in Guatemala City, Nov. 13.Moises Castillo/The Associated Press
Canada defeated Guatemala 3-2 in the opening leg of a CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal on Friday night but lost captain Alphonso Davies to injury.
“It’s a lower-body injury right now,” said Canadian assistant coach Mauro Biello. “They’re going to assess him over the next couple days here and then we’ll get a better idea on the extent of the injury.”
Tani Oluwaseyi (18th minute), Liam Millar (28th) and Jonathan David (stoppage time) scored in the first half for Canada, which took a 3-0 lead into the halftime break.
Oscar Santis put Guatemala on the board in the 54th minute at Estadio El Trebol. An own goal by Canadian defender Luc de Fougerolles in stoppage time made it a one-goal game.
“We’re very happy with how our forwards played, especially in the first half,” Biello said.
The teams will play the second leg on Monday night at Toronto’s BMO Field.
Davies went down in the fifth minute after he slipped inside Canada’s 18-yard box. He got up and tried to block a shot before signalling to the bench.
“In the end, he felt something and he waved at us to come off,” Biello said. “We’ll assess it and get the full extent of the injury once the doctor takes a good look at it, and then we’ll be able to make a decision on what the next steps are with him.”
The Bayern Munich star, who missed most of the FIFA World Cup earlier this year with a hamstring injury, wasn’t limping as he walked to the sideline without assistance.
Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch was sent off in the 64th minute after being shown a red card.
“We were just making a change and we don’t know exactly what the decision was, and (the referee) showed the red card,” Biello said. “So we were quite surprised.”
Davies missed Canada’s fall friendlies against Chile in Toronto, Peru in Montreal and the United States in Minnesota while on his honeymoon.
Marsch said Davies was at 100 per cent in training this week. Davies has made 15 appearances for Bayern Munich this season, recording three goals and three assists.
He joined a long injury list for the Canadian side.
Midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Jacob Shaffelburg were ruled out this week, joining sidelined regulars Stephen Eustáquio, Cyle Larin, Derek Cornelius, Alfie Jones and Alistair Johnston.
The winner of the Canada-Guatemala series advances to the CONCACAF Nations League Finals in Los Angeles in March 2027 and qualifies for the 2027 Gold Cup.
The loser will be forced into the Gold Cup preliminary round.
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