(Houston) Adriana Leon scored twice, Cloé Lacasse scored a goal and set up two others, and Canada opened the first-ever Women’s Gold Cup with a 6-0 victory over El Salvador on Thursday.
It was the first match between the two nations among the seniors. Canadians are ranked 10are in the world and Salvadoran women, 104are.
Jordyn Huitema, Kadeisha Buchanan and Olivia Smith also scored for Canada, which led 3-0 at halftime.
Canada outshot 23-3 — 10-3 on target — and had possession 60% of the time.
Paraguay (50e) defeated Costa Rica (43e) 1-0 in another Group C match, at the Shell Energy Stadium. The representatives of the maple leaf will cross swords with Paraguay on Sunday and Costa Rica on Tuesday, each time in Houston.
The two teams finishing at the top of each group, as well as the two best teams in third position, will advance to the quarter-finals.
The Gold Cup, bringing together 12 CONCACAF countries, will take place until March 10 in Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego and Carson.