Alphonso Davies and Shelina
\u200bZadorsky have been named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for February
\u200b2021. Davies of Edmonton, Alberta became the first Canadian to win the men’s
\u200bFIFA Club World Cup title with FC Bayern München while Zadorsky of London,
\u200bOntario featured in every minute of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team first
\u200binternational competition in 2021 in preparation for the Olympic Games in
\u200bTokyo.
Davies played every minute of FC Bayern’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign in Al Rayyan, Qatar. In the semi-final stage, Davies and the UEFA Champions League winners won 2:0 over CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly SC. In the FIFA Club World Cup Final, Davies and FC Bayern won 1:0 over Concacaf Champions League winners Tigres UANL.
Also in February, Davies and FC
\u200bBayern maintained first place in the German Bundesliga, with Davies scoring the
\u200b3:3 equalizer on 15 February against Arminia Bielefeld. In UEFA Champions League
\u200baction, Davies helped FC Bayern win 4:1 over Lazio in the first leg of the
\u200bRound of 16.
Across Europe, Scott Arfield and
\u200bRangers FC advanced to the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 while also
\u200bmaintaining first place in the Scottish Premiership. David Wotherspoon,
\u200bmeanwhile, helped St. Johnstone FC win the 2020-21 Scottish League Cup. In
\u200bFrance, Jonathan David scored three goals as Lille OSC maintained first place
\u200bin France’s Ligue 1. In Serbia, goalkeeper Milan Borjan set a club record with
\u200bhis 51stappearance for Red Star Belgrade in UEFA club competitions
\u200bwhile also keeping Red Star in first place in the SuperLiga standings.
At the international level, Zadorsky played every minute at centre back in Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team’s first matches since the global pause in play last year. Zadorsky, who captains Tottenham Hotspur FC, arrived from England and immediately anchored the backline for three SheBelieves Cup matches against USA, Argentina and Brazil, which included Head Coach Bev Priestman’s first victory with the 1:0 win over Argentina. Zadorsky also beat the goalkeeper but hit the post in the final game against Brazil.
While Priestman got her first win,
\u200bother February milestones included Sophie Schmidt’s 200thinternational match, Stephanie Labbé’s 75thinternational match, and
\u200bDeanne Rose’s 50thinternational match. Sarah Stratigakis scored her
\u200bfirst international goal while Samantha Chang, Jordyn Listro, Jade Rose and
\u200bEvelyne Viens all made their international “A” debuts.
Looking ahead to the month of
\u200bMarch, six women are taking part in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of
\u200b16, with Kadeisha Buchanan at FCF Olympique Lyonnais, Jordyn Huitema and Ashley
\u200bLawrence at Paris Saint-Germain FC, Janine Beckie at Manchester City FC, Jessie
\u200bFleming at Chelsea FC, and Stephanie Labbé at FC Rosengård.
In international competition, Canada
\u200bSoccer’s Men’s National Team will kick off FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against
\u200bBermuda in Orland, FL, USA on 25 March while the Men’s U-23 National Team will
\u200bcompete in the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying starting 19 March.
PLAYERS of the MONTH:
\u200bFebruary 2021 – Alphonso Davies & Shelina Zadorsky
\u200bJanuary 2021 – Cyle Larin & Ashley Lawrence