TFC's Hamilton scores as Canada U-23s wrap perfect trip with win at Qatar

The Canada Under-23s completed a successful international break on Tuesday, posting a 2-0 win at Qatar three days after topping Uzbekistan 1-0 to get Octavio Zambrano’s tenure as head coach of Canada’s men’s national team program off to a solid start.

Toronto FC striker Jordan Hamilton scored the first goal on Tuesday, while New York City FC midfielder Kwame Awuah set up Michael Petrasso for Canada’s second against Qatar.

Stuttgart midfielder Caniggia Elva, who setup Hamilton’s goal against Qatar, scored the lone tally in Canada’s 1-0 win against Uzbekistan on Saturday.

The victories closed out a positive first two weeks on the job for Zambrano, who was hired as Canada manager on March 17 and was in attendance when the senior national team played Scotland to a 1-1 draw in Edinburgh last Wednesday.

“It was extremely important that we came out to win these matches because we can,” Zambrano told CanadaSoccer.com. “It was also just as important that we had the opportunity to evaluate the players and I think after two matches we have an idea of what they are capable of doing.

“It is encouraging that there is a handful of them that get to a higher level and high enough to be with the first team.”