Young Ottawa star scores big in international debut

When the Canadian men's national soccer team had its best ever result on Sunday, a young man from Ottawa was leading the charge. 

Jonathan David, a forward who played with the Ottawa Gloucester Hornets and Ottawa Internationals soccer clubs, was part of the Canadian team that defeated the U.S. Virgin Islands in Florida on Sunday.

David scored twice in the 8-0 victory, the largest margin of victory a Canadian men's team has ever had. 

FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, ranks Canada as 79th in the world and the U.S. Virgin Islands at 199th.

David, who is 18 years and eight months old, also became the youngest Canadian player to score a goal in his first appearance with the national team.

In an interview with Radio-Canada in French, David said he was proud to play a part in the historic win and to have scored in his first outing.

John Herdman, the national team coach, said David's performance was very impressive. 

"I am proud of the lads. You see Jonathan David in his debut, one of the youngest players for Canada, he stepped on the field and scored two goals," Herdman said.

Since January, David has also been playing for K.A.A. Gent, a professional team in Belgium. He said a year ago he never would have thought he would be where he is today. 

David also trained briefly with the Ottawa Fury last season, which he said helped to elevate his skills. He is being compared to Alphonso Davies, another young Canadian player, who just signed a multi-million dollar contract with German soccer giant Bayern Munich.

David told Radio-Canada that he doesn't know if he could follow Davies to the same level and is focused on his current club.