Noah Verhoeven’s 75th-minute tally carried Canada to a 1-0 win over Turkey on Thursday in group stage action at the prestigious Festival International Espoirs Provence – also known as the Toulon Tournament – in Provence, France.
The Vancouver Whitecaps FC prospect, who is currently on loan with the club’s USL affiliate Fresno FC, curled in a dangerous left-footed cross that eluded everyone in the box and found the bottom left corner of the goal to secure the victory for Canada.
Verhoeven was one of three Whitecaps FC youngsters to appear in the match for the Canadian U-21 side, including first-team midfielder David Norman Jr. and Residency forward Theo Bair. All three players entered the match as second-half substitutes.
Canada now sits atop Group C with four points from their first two matches, including a scoreless draw with Portugal on Monday. They conclude the group stage on Sunday against Japan. The group winners and top second-placed team will advantage to the tournament semifinals.
