The past forty-eight hours have been a whirlwind for Noah Verhoeven. In a season of firsts, the 19-year-old midfielder for Pacific FC has become the first Canadian Premier League product to receive an invitation to Canada’s men’s national team. On Thursday, Canada Soccer announced the Surrey, British Columbia native had been added to its Gold Cup pre-camp as a training player and would join the team in Los Angeles for the weekend. “I came in on a 5 a.m. flight. Early flight,” Verhoeven told CanPL.ca while in between sessions. “As soon as I landed, it was off to meetings and training sessions.” The former Fresno FC player got the news of his invite from assistant coach Mauro Biello “about two days ago,” according to Verhoeven. “He just said he’d like me to come down and join the team and train with them, and we spoke about how it’s a good opportunity to be around the team, around the guys.” So far, the former Vancouver Whitecaps academy product has made the most of it. “Just from being around them for a day already, I’m looking at guys like (Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan) Osorio, for sure,” said Verhoeven. “We play a similar position, and he’s one of the smartest players on the team. Atiba (Hutchinson)’s so experienced. There’s so much I can learn from him. Guys like (Samuel) Piette, (Russell) Teibert … Will Johnson. In my position, I’m looking to learn as much as I can.” Though brief—Verhoeven is there as an injury substitute and will return to Vancouver Island shortly—the invite marks the first step in a mandate the CPL set forth long before the league’s first-ever match: to grow and develop Canadian talent for the international stage. “This is a well-deserved opportunity by Noah,” said Rob Friend, CEO and co-owner of Pacific FC. “We know of his abilities, so it’s a great gesture by John Herdman to include him into the National Team. Hopefully this is just the start for not only Noah, but a few of our other young Canadians.” > [
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