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A young Canadian side made short work of unheralded Dominica on Tuesday night, cruising to a 5-0 win in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying play.

Canada is ranked 79th in the world, compared to No. 177 for Dominica. And the gap in class between the two sides was plain to see from the get-go as the Canadians showed plenty of flair and even a few party tricks with flicks and backheels.

At times, the Canadians swarmed the Dominica penalty box as they piled on the pressure before 10,523 on a cool night at BMO Field.

Coach John Herdman, in his first home match at the men’s helm, started four teenagers and brought two more on from the bench. Herdman is 3-0-0 as coach and his team has yet to concede a goal.

Jonathan David, Junior Hoilett, Lucas Cavallini (from the penalty spot) and Cyle Larin scored for Canada, which had seven corners and 11 shots in the first half alone. Dominica contributed an own goal.

And there could have been more goals if the finishing had been a little sharper.

Hoilett, who plays for Cardiff City in the English Premier League, was a danger-man all night moving the ball around like a world champion snooker player. Teenager Alphonso Davies served as playmaker, providing good movement and distribution from his left fullback role.

The first-half goals came in the third, 14th and 18th minutes. In the second half, the scoreboard ticked over in the 47th and 82nd minutes.

The five goals tied Canada’s record at home, last achieved in a 5-2 win over China in 1992.

David, who plays for KAA Gent in Belgium, opened the scoring with a powerful shot off a sweet Davies feed. The Canadian Soccer Association said it was the second-fastest goal in Canadian men’s history.

Dominica, whose backline included 44-year-old Euclid Bertrand, did not help its cause with some clown-like defending that led to a Malcolm Joseph own goal in the 47th minute.

It was Canada’s first game at home since a 2-0 win over Jamaica in September 2017 at BMO Field.

With Scott Arfield nursing a hamstring, 35-year-old Atiba Hutchinson captained Canada. It was his 79th cap, compared to the total of 103 for the other 10 starters — 62 of which belonged to Jonathan Osorio, Russell Teibert and Hoilett.

Six of the Canadians came into the game with less than 10 caps. Goalkeeper Alessando Busti, an 18-year-old who was born in Toronto to Italian parents and plays for Juventus’ reserve side, made his senior debut.

The Canadian roster also included Davies (age 17), Busti and David (both 18) and Ballou Tabla, Zachary Brault-Guillard and Liam Millar (all 19).

Busti, David, Davies and Millar all started. Tabla came on in the 55th minute, sealing his allegiance to Canada

It was a first call-up for Tabla, who left the Montreal Impact in January for the FC Barcelona B team. Born in the Ivory Coast, he had represented Canada at the under-17 level but only recently committed to Canada.

Tabla and Davies made for an attractive pair down the left side. Brault-Guillard, who plays for Lyon’s second team in France, came on in the 67th minute for his first cap.

Glenson Prince had a busy night in the Dominica goal. The captain was a standout when Canada dispatched Dominica 6-0 on aggregate in a 2015 World Cup qualifying series.

Back then the Dominica roster featured farmers, fishermen, construction workers, teachers, students and the self-employed.

The Canadians thumped the No. 201 U.S. Virgin Islands 8-0 last month in their first CONCACAF Nations League qualifying play with David, Cavallini and Larin each scoring twice. Osorio and Hoilett added singles.

Dominica tied No. 153 Suriname 0-0 in its opener.

Located about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica has a population of some 74,000, about the same as Prince George, B.C.

Canada plays at No. 134 St. Kitts and Nevis in November before wrapping up qualifying play in March at home to French Guiana, which is unranked because it is not a FIFA member.

Results from the qualifying games will be used to seed Canada and the other contestants into three tiers for the inaugural edition of the full CONCACAF Nations League in 2019.

The top 10 nations qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup while the top six also qualify for CONCACAF Nations League Group A.

Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, the U.S., and Trinidad & Tobago, the six teams that made it to the final round of World Cup qualifying in the region, are bypassing the one-off qualifying stage.

The new competition will crown the Nations League champion and serve as qualifying for the newly expanded 16-team Gold Cup. It is also expected to influence seeding in future World Cup qualifying.

Canada beat New Zealand 1-0 in a friendly in Murcia, Spain, in March in Herdman’s debut as men’s coach. He took over the team in January, leaving the women’s program.

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