- The Canadians will play in the opening match against Argentina on June 20 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
- This will be the first time Canada participates in CONMEBOL Copa América™.
Canada will embark on its first CONMEBOL Copa América™ campaign with a new coach, American Jesse Marsch, and a young core of players who’ve excelled in Europe. Here are three of those players who could play a key role for Canada.
Tickets are still available to see Canada face defending champions Argentina during the opening match of the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ on June 20 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets are available here.
Alphonso Davies
First, we have a true wonderkid who emerged from Major League Soccer and has become one of the best fullbacks in the world.
Alphonso Davies introduced himself to the world with the Vancouver Whitecaps in Major League Soccer. When he debuted in the league at age 15 in 2016, the young Canadian became the second-youngest player to play in MLS at the time, only behind Freddy Adu. Now, at 23 years old and playing for the great German club, Bayern Munich, Davies has already completed his ninth season as a professional.
Davies was born in Ghana on November 2, 2000, and his parents emigrated to Canada in 2005. He joined the Whitecaps academy ten years later, in 2015, and just a year later, made his professional debut.
While playing for the Whitecaps, Davies became a Canadian citizen, and at the age of 16 in 2017, during a friendly against Curaçao, he became the youngest player to play for the Canadian National Team. Since then, he has played 45 matches for Canada, scoring 12 goals.
The 23-year-old has already won the Canadian Player of the Year award four times and the CONCACAF Player of the Year award twice.
Davies' rapid career growth coincided with the rise of his incredible talent.
When he moved from Vancouver to Munich in January 2019, he had already been named Whitecaps Player of the Season in 2018 and ended his time in the MLS with eight goals and ten assists in the league over three seasons.
At Bayern Munich, he was a UEFA Champions League champion and a Bundesliga champion (five times). With a trophy cabinet full at the age of 23, Davies is positioned as one of the stars who could shine in this year's CONMEBOL Copa América™.
Jonathan David
No matter where he has gone during his short career, Canada’s number 9 has shown he can score goals.
Jonathan David was born in New York City, lived in Haiti, and then eventually moved to Canada when he was six years old, where he would go to school and play for his youth club. After trying out for several European clubs, David finally got his chance with the Belgian club, K.A.A Gent. After eight months with Gent, David received his first call-up to the Canadian national team, having previously rejected a call-up to the U.S. U-20 national team.
The 2018-19 season proved to be a breakout year for the young forward. He registered 12 goals and 6 assists in his first professional year and followed it with 18 goals and 7 assists during the 2019-2020 season. Accolades quickly began to pile up for David. He was named Canadian Player of the Year in 2019 and won the CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Boot in 2019 with six goals, even though Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the competition.
His impressive play for both club and country earned him a transfer to Lille in France’s Ligue 1. David’s transfer to Lille (€30 million) remains the most expensive purchase of a Canadian player in history. In his first year at Lille, he helped the club win its first title in 10 years, scoring 13 goals. His goal-scoring did not slow down, and he achieved his best mark in Ligue 1 in 2022-23 with 24 goals. In the most recent season prior to the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™, he scored 19 goals. Internationally for Canada, at the age of 24, David has already scored 26 times in 46 matches.
Tajon Buchanan
Like his international teammate, Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan made a name for himself in Major League Soccer before making the jump to Europe.
Born in Brampton, Ontario, Buchanan played college soccer at Syracuse University before being selected 9th in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution. By 2021, the young winger helped the Revolution win the MLS Supporters’ Shield and was named in the MLS Best XI at the end of the season. His last season in the MLS saw him finish with eight goals and five assists before making the jump across the Atlantic to Club Brugge in Belgium.
He spent three years with Brugge before becoming the first Canadian to play in Serie A when Inter Milan signed him in January 2024. The versatile midfielder/winger/defender played 10 times after his move and helped Inter on their way to winning the league title for the 20th time in the club’s history.
Internationally, Buchanan made his debut in 2021 for the Canadian national team and a month later stood out in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he won the tournament's Best Young Player award. He was then selected to be part of Canada’s squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, along with Davies and David, and provided the assist for Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal, which was scored by Davies.
If selected for the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™, Buchanan will look to build on a positive first half-year with Inter Milan and help his country during its first appearance in the world’s oldest national team tournament.
