MENU
James Sharman on OneSoccer Hangout: Is Alphonso Davies the best in Concacaf?


Casting the net a little further than the usual topics on Friday, the OneSoccer crew welcomed James Sharman to their latest Player & Pundit Hangout.

Sharman, the host of the Footy Prime Podcast, joined OneSoccer’s Adam Jenkins, Oliver Platt, and Kurt Larson to discuss the wide world of football, including the impact of COVID-19 on Europe’s major leagues.

The group spent time dissecting the merits of some possible solutions for finishing the 2019-20 English Premier League season — Should the table be voided? Can the schedule be played out in late summer or fall? — and each pundit gave a pick for one player they’d like to build a brand new team around, and who might be the best under-25 player in the world.

Focus then shifted closer to home, as they tackled a huge question: Is Alphonso Davies the best player in Concacaf at the moment?

“Right now I’d go for Phonzie,” Sharman offered. “Why the hell not? He’s Canadian, how often can we even have this debate? … This kid is becoming so instrumental to the way they play.”


To watch the OneSoccer’s Player & Pundit Hangout with James Sharman in full, click here.


“Over the past few months, yes, I think (Davies has) been the best player in Concacaf. If you’re asking me who the best player is just on an objective level right now, I think it’s Raul Jimenez,” Platt added.

“But certainly I’d have Davies as the most in-form, and the one with the biggest potential going forward.”

After discussing Davies, the group went on to chat about the Canadian men’s team, and how far its current core of players might take them — as well as how much the talent pool in Canada has improved over the past ten years.

The consensus was, by and large, that Canada hasn’t seen a young cast of talented players like this before — although the panel did caution that fans shouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves, warning them not to forget the team’s loss away the the United States, as well as those in last summer’s Gold Cup against Haiti and Mexico.

Still, there’s plenty of reason for optimism, with Canadian players making names for themselves all over the world right now.

“We’re on the cusp of something pretty great,” said Sharman. “We’re seeing, for the first time maybe ever, genuine superstars emerging.”


Subscribe to OneSoccer’s YouTube channel for more.