BRADENTON, Fla. — Noble Okello scored two first-half goals as Canada went on to beat Dominica 4-0 on Thursday in its CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship tournament opener.

The 18-year-old from Toronto opened the scoring in the 24th before making it a 2-0 lead for the Canadians in the 31st.

Jose Hernandez scored in the 81st while Theo Bair added a fourth goal for Canada two minutes later. Thomas Hasal only had to make one save for the clean sheet.

Canada controlled majority of the match, including 70 per cent of ball possession. The Canadians had 16 shots on target, keeping Dominica goalkeeper Tafarie Elie busy for much of the night.

Dominica (0-1-0) was the first of five group matches Canada will play in nine days, with its next being against Guadeloupe on Sunday. The Canadians will also play Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis and Martinique.

Canada has failed to qualify for the past five U-20 World Cups. It last appeared at the tournament in 2007 as the host country, exiting after losing all three preliminary-round matches.

The Canadians qualified in 1979, 1985, 1987, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005, with their best showing in 2003 when they lost 2-1 in the quarterfinals to Spain on a golden goal.