CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – At the young age of 19, Canada FW Jonathan David is already posting numbers usually reserved for players with a decade of international experience.
The Canada dangerman, who plies his trade for Belgian club Gent, leads the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup in scoring with five goals, thanks to his brace in the 4-0 group stage opening win over Martinique, followed by a hat trick in the group finale against Cuba, a 7-0 victory which sealed Canada’s passage to the quarterfinals.
With his hat trick last Sunday in Charlotte, David became the first player under the age of 20 to score a hat trick in a Gold Cup, shattering the previous record of the youngest player with a Gold Cup hat trick set by then-21-year-old Landon Donovan of the United States against Cuba in 2003.
On top of that, David is now the youngest player to score five goals in the tournament, again surpassing the mark set by Donovan.
The game against Cuba was also the first time that two teammates had ever scored a hat trick in the same Gold Cup match, as David and fellow FW Lucas Cavallini teamed up to score six goals against the Cubans.
All told, David’s five goals helped Canada’s to its highest-scoring total ever in a Gold Cup group stage with 12 goals, shattering its previous mark of six goals scored in the inaugural edition in 1991.
And with David’s contribution, Canada has also set a team record for most goals scored in a single Gold Cup, surpassing the nine goals it tallied when it reached the semifinals in 2007.
Needless to say, with David in tow, Canada is rewriting its Gold Cup history.
