Canadian teen Davies joins TFC's Giovinco as MLS all stars

It's been a whirlwind few weeks for Vancouver Whitecaps teenager Alphonso Davies.

Earlier this month, the 17-year-old from Edmonton addressed the FIFA Congress in Moscow in support of the joint 2026 World Cup bid by Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

On Thursday, the young midfielder was named to the MLS all-star team, along with New York Red Bulls sniper Bradley Wright-Phillips, as commissioner Don Garber's picks for the Aug. 1 game against Italian champion Juventus at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney welcomed Davies' selection.

"It's good for him," he said. "Every time I watch the game, the kid makes things happen. You can't deny that for him. He's obviously a player with lots of talent and rising in his performances and his ability to make a difference in games.

"He's one of our young exciting players, without question. Good for him to get recognized."

Giovinco, Piatti join Davies

With a fan vote having already decided 11 all-stars, Atlanta coach Gerardo (Tata) Martino fleshed out the rest of his roster with 14 picks, including Toronto forward Sebastian Giovinco and Montreal Impact midfielder Ignacio Piatti.

For Giovinco, the game is an opportunity to play against his former team.

"I'm happy," he said in English. "I'll meet again all my friends."

The roster features players from 16 countries, the most in MLS all-star game history.

Davies has come a long way

Davies, who was born in a refugee camp in Ghana to Liberian parents before emigrating with his family to Canada, became the youngest player to represent Canada's senior team at the 2017 Gold Cup. He went on to win the Golden Boot as tournament's top scorer and the Young Player of the Tournament award, and was included in the tournament's Best XI.

He is also the youngest goal-scorer in the history of the Whitecaps, the United Soccer League, CONCACAF Champions League, Canadian Championship and Canadian national team.

Davies would be the fourth-youngest player to appear in an MLS all-star game. He was the third-youngest player in league history when he signed as a homegrown player on July 15, 2016.

Davies has two goals and seven assists in 17 appearances for the Whitecaps this season, including 14 starts.

The 'Caps winger is tied for third in MLS with assists on the season. He's also the MLS leader in dribbles completed (69) and duels won (146), second in fast breaks (6), and fourth in tackles won (34).

Giovinco will be making his fourth all-star appearance, although injury kept him out of the 2015 game. The crafty striker from Turin, Italy, has three goals and seven assists in 12 MLS appearances this season and 58 goals and 44 assists in 98 career MLS games.

Piatti, a three-time all-star, is having a strong season with the Impact, scoring eight goals and adding six assists over 15 games. The Argentine has 55 goals and 27 assists in 107 games over his MLS career.