Canada crushes Dominica 8-0 in CONCACAF U-20 qualifiers

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago – Miles Morgan scored three goals and Santiago Lopez and 15-year-old Sergei Kozlovsky scored two goals each. Canada Dominica were thrashed 8-0 in a CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifier on Friday.

Kevon Tavernier also scored for Canada, which led 4-0 in the first half.

Kozlovsky is a defender CF Montreal The team succeeded in making the score 7-0 in the 87th minute when goalkeeper Ronnie Lockhart missed an Olimpico corner kick and the ball bounced off a defender. Kozlowski went one better in the 94th minute, as he fired a powerful shot into the net.

Morgan, former member of Toronto FC II, is currently offline. Lopez is in the Pumas UNAM system Mexico.

Dominica completed the match with ten players after midfielder Fabio Drago was sent off for his violent intervention on Christian Greco Taylor in the 43rd minute.

Canada outscored Dominica 32-0 (13-0 in shots on goal).

Dominica is located in the Caribbean, midway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago, and has a population of 76,650, roughly the same as the population of Sarnia, Ontario. Its senior national football team is ranked 180th in the world and 27th in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

CONCACAF U-20 qualifiers continue until March 2 at five venues in Central America and the Caribbean. The 27 teams are divided into three groups of five and three groups of four, with the group winners qualifying for the main CONCACAF tournament this summer.

United States, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica The Dominican Republic received a bye into the main CONCACAF tournament. The four teams that qualify for the semi-finals will qualify for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile.

Trinidad and Tobago played Saint Vincent and the Grenadines later Friday.

The Canadians face St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Sunday and Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday. All Group D matches will be played at Haseley Crawford Stadium.

Canada's second goal on Friday was somewhat controversial, leaving the Dominica players in a state of disbelief.

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After Dominica earned a free kick in their own penalty area, Lockhart laid the ball out for his teammate to clear the field. When his colleague did not react quickly enough, Lopez sneaked and shot the ball into the open goal in the 26th minute.

Tavernier, the 17-year-old who plays for Premier League side Forges, made it 3-0 a minute later with a beautiful goal, deftly driving past a defender and then firing a left-footed shot into the net.

Morgan's two goals in the first half came in the eighth and thirty-sixth minutes with headers. He completed his hat-trick two minutes into the second half.

Kimani Stuart-Baines, taken fourth overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft by Colorado RapidsHe shot a powerful ball that bounced off the crossbar at the beginning of the second half

Goal No. 6 was another fine effort as Lopez beat Lockhart from a free-kick from just outside the penalty area. The tired Dominica goalkeeper caught the ball but was unable to clear it.

Alessandro Bello appeared to have made it 7-0 in the 68th minute after a mix-up in front of goal, as he headed the ball from close range from Morgan's ball, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Kozlowski, who played for Montreal's senior team in a pre-season game on Jan. 27 in Arizona, came off the bench in the 74th minute.

Canada has not participated in a FIFA U-20 World Cup finals since it hosted the event in 2007.

Canada has participated in 24 of the 28 CONCACAF U-20 Championships to date, winning the tournament in 1986 and 1996. In 2022 in Honduras, the Canadians reached the round of 16, where they lost to Guatemala on penalties.

Trinidad and Tobago has participated in the U-20 World Cup twice, in 1991 and 2009, and finished as runners-up in the CONCACAF Championship in 1990.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2024

Canadian Press