BRAZIL SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN TO BEAT CANADA.

Byline: Tom Timmermann Daily News Deputy Sports Editor 

Fifteen minutes of brilliant soccer was all it took for Brazil to establish itself as the team to beat in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The Brazilians, who are competing here with their Olympic team, scored three goals in the first 15 minutes before clicking into cruise control for the final 75 minutes of a 4-1 win over Canada at the Coliseum on Friday.

The only disappointment was the sparse crowd for the game, which drew 8,234.

Brazil, with all of its players under the age of 23, put the game away early, scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes. The first goal, in the third minute, set the tone for the match. Andre Luis took the ball into the Canadian box and, even though he had three defenders on him, was able to put the ball inside the far post.

Goals by Caio (seventh minute) and Savio (14th) quickly followed. After Canada scored in the 66th minute, Leandro scored for Brazil in the 89th minute, as if to prove Brazil could score whenever it wanted.

"I considered us lucky to be able to score three goals so quickly," said Brazilian coach Mario Zagalo, who expressed concern because the team had only three practices together before the match and was missing four of his best players. "The three goals gave us strength for the last 45 minutes."

The United States will play its first match of the tournament today against Trinidad and Tobago at 4 p.m. at Anaheim Stadium.

The U.S. team will have most of the players from its very successful Copa America team, though forward Ernie Stewart will miss the tournament because of an injury and midfielder John Harkes will miss today's match because of a slight knee injury suffered in practice. Kasey Keller will start in goal.

Trinidad lost its first match, falling to El Salvador 3-2.