Alphonso Davies Skips Canada Friendlies for Honeymoon

Alphonso Davies has been granted permission to miss Canada’s upcoming friendlies so he can go on honeymoon, after a whirlwind summer that squeezed a World Cup, a wedding and a return to form at Bayern Munich into just a few months.

Between the World Cup and the start of pre-season in Bavaria, the 25-year-old married his partner Sheyenne Jen in Paris on 23 July. The couple now plan to celebrate with a trip together, and Canada’s captain will sit out the three scheduled friendlies against Chile, Peru and the USA.

This is not a clash between club and country or player and coach. It’s a calculated decision.

Canada boss Jesse Marsch explained that the call came after detailed talks with Davies.

“We talked about whether he should spend half of the training camp on his honeymoon and then join us. But I simply felt that it was important for him to enjoy his honeymoon first and then continue working on his physical condition and form,” Marsch said.

That physical condition has been a running theme of Davies’ year.

At the start of 2025, he tore his cruciate ligament while on duty with Canada and spent three quarters of the year on the sidelines. When he finally returned, further setbacks followed. Recurring health problems disrupted his rhythm, and a muscle fibre tear ruled him out for Bayern Munich in the closing stages of last season. His long-awaited home World Cup with Canada brought only 16 minutes on the pitch.

For a player used to sprinting past opponents, everything suddenly felt stop-start.

Back in Munich, still hampered by the injury, Davies initially trained alone. Gradually, the explosiveness and confidence began to return. The turning point came recently in a 5-0 win over FK Bodö/Glimt, where he capped an impressive display with a well-taken goal, a reminder of the full-back who once terrorised defences across Europe.

Marsch has been watching closely.

“He is playing really well, looks very fit and feels very good,” the Canada coach said. “That is why we wanted to make sure in every respect that in November, when we need him for some important matches, and then in March as well as throughout the entire next cycle, he is so well prepared in every respect that he can always fully commit himself to what we expect from him for the national team.”

So Canada will do without their captain now in the hope of having the real Alphonso Davies – fully fit, fully focused – when the stakes rise again later in the season.

For Bayern, though, the focus is immediate. Davies is set to face Union Berlin in Munich on Friday, before a long gap in the schedule. The German champions do not play again until 10 October, away at Augsburg.

A rare breather in a packed calendar, and for Davies, a chance to balance life, recovery and responsibility before the next demands of club and country arrive.