ANALYSIS + HIGHLIGHTS: Vancouver Whitecaps ADVANCE to 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup final 🏆
For the first time in club history, the Vancouver Whitecaps will play in a continental final, as they defeated Inter Miami 3-1 (5-1 on aggregate) in the second leg of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup semi-finals at Chase Field on Wednesday.
Despite facing off against an Inter Miami side favoured to not just win this tie, but win this entire tournament, too, it’d be the Whitecaps who’d steal the show, as they picked up two big victories across both legs.
They were made to work for this result, especially in this game, one where Miami mounted an early push in chase of a comeback.
In the end, however, the Whitecaps managed to get the job done in the end, and did so rather comfortably, allowing them to reach the final with ease, where they’ll now play either Liga MX’s Tigres UNAL or Cruz Azul, with the location to be determined based on the result of their second leg on Thursday.
Returning to Miami’s strong start to this game, however, it’s worth noting that they came flying out of the gates early, knowing that they needed to score at least two goals to have a chance at advancing after falling 2-0 in leg one. That early pressure paid off, too, as Jordi Alba managed to drift into Vancouver’s box after some nice build-up play, and he squeezed a powerful shot into the net after receiving a nice pass from Luis Suárez to cut the aggregate score to 2-1.
After surviving the first half without conceding any more goals, the Whitecaps came alive in the second half, as they scored two goals in rapid succession right after the break.
First, they put together a beautiful team goal in the 51st minute, one that finished with another Brian White goal - his fifth in this competition. After a nice pass into the box from Ali Ahmed, Sebastian Berhalter managed to get onto it and then sent a perfect cutback towards White, who dropped back into a soft spot and fired off a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner for the goal.
Then, the Whitecaps scored another in the 53rd minute, as Ahmed made a great run down the wing before finding Berhalter, who slotted the ball to Pedro Vite, and Vite fired a deflected strike into the back of the net to give the Whitecaps a lead on the night.
Despite having that lead in this game, and a comfortable advantage on aggregate, the Whitecaps kept pushing for more. And to their credit, they then found another goal in the 71st minute, as the ball fell to Berhalter in the box after a chaotic sequence, and he fired a deflected shot in the net to put his team up 3-1 in the game, and 5-1 on aggregate.
From there, they cruised the rest of the way, even as Miami pushed to find a consolation goal. They certainly came close - Lionel Messi almost scored in the dying moments of the game after a nice cutback - but it wasn’t meant to be for the hosts.
With that, it left the Whitecaps to celebrate their victory when the final whistle blew, as they officially sealed their participation in the final for the first time, doing so with a resounding victory.
Here are three KEY takeaways from this one.
Whitecaps rise to the occasion with a spot on the final on the line:
For a second, it looked like the stage might get to the Whitecaps.
As Inter Miami started to mount early pressure, and turned that pressure into an early goal, the possibility of a comeback started to become inevitable, with Miami looking like they had a few more goals in them, too.
That was a huge worry, because, for as good as the Whitecaps have been this season, it’s not easy for anyone to handle a team as talented as Miami when they start clicking the way they can.
You could almost imagine a reality where Lionel Messi would fire home a winning goal against the Whitecaps, much like he did against LAFC in the quarter-finals, helping seal a comeback from being down 2-0 on aggregate in that tie.
Yet, while it seemed that a story like that was almost pre-written, the Whitecaps didn’t have access to that script. The story of their Champions Cup run hasn’t been one of pure domination, as they’ve faced adversity in every round up until this point.
Against Saprissa in round one, they trailed after the first leg, forcing them to make a comeback from down 2-1 to advance with a 3-2 win on aggregate. Then, in the round of 16 against Monterrey, the Whitecaps were trailing on away goals after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, and then went down 2-1 on aggregate early in the second leg, forcing them to pull out a dramatic second-half comeback to advance on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate draw.
Lastly, in the quarter-finals vs. Pumas, the Whitecaps faced more adversity - after a 1-1 draw in leg one put them down on away goals, they were minutes away from going to extra time with the series tied at 2-2 on aggregate, but then they gave up an 88th minute goal that put Pumas ahead. Needing a goal to stay alive, they found it in the 93rd minute, allowing them to reach this round on away goals after another 3-3 aggregate draw.
Because of that, this bout of adversity against Miami would’ve felt quite small in comparison to what they’ve endured on this journey, and their reaction to it tells the story.
Instead of wilting at that early sign of pressure, they kept their heads up and slowly willed themselves back into the game.
Then, having survived the Miami wave, the Whitecaps came out in the second half with something to prove, as they started to play like the team that has both shone in this tournament and gotten off to an incredible start to the 2025 MLS season.
GOAL 🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 1, 2025
BRIAN WHITE IS HIM.@WhitecapsFC tie the game and Inter Miami need 3 goals 🤯
🔴 Watch Inter Miami vs. #VWFC in #ConcaChampions SF LEG 2 on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/DnjNXmaxmo
They didn’t just start to play well - they dominated, and the goals started to pour in. On a pitch littered with stars wearing pink, it’d be the Whitecaps in their blue kits who looked like the side filled with players who had played on the biggest stages.
Now, they’ll look to do the same in the final, but that they’ve even gotten here is quite the story, one they’ll hope doesn’t end anytime soon.
Miami’s full backs cause early problems for Whitecaps, but at a later cost:
Immediately, Inter Miami appeared to target two specific areas of the field to begin this game, as they looked to break down a Whitecaps defence that caused them a lot of frustration in leg one.
Instead of forcing play through central channels and getting the ball to Lionel Messi, it’d be through their full backs that they’d find joy, as they looked to overload the Whitecaps' wide players through constant overlaps from Jordi Alba and Marcelo Weigandt.
With the Whitecaps defending extremely narrowly in their 4-3-3, Miami dared the Whitecaps' wingers to track back and support their fullbacks, as they tried to create overloads in those areas.
That ended up paying off early. In particular, Alba seemed to dominate that left side in the first 30 minutes, finding a goal and creating several other dangerous chances from out wide, as the Whitecaps were struggling to close him down.
GOAL 🌴
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 1, 2025
Jordi Alba cuts the aggregate deficit to 1 and Inter Miami are just a goal away from tying the series 😬
🔴 Watch Inter Miami vs. #VWFC in #ConcaChampions SF LEG 2 on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/0LFoP2QR9S
To adjust, the Whitecaps started to send Pedro Vite over to support their right back, Edier Ocampo, as they wanted to keep Emmanuel Sabbi as high as possible. That ended up helping significantly, allowing the Whitecaps to close out the half still ahead on the aggregate score, but they knew that they had several close calls defensively.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Weigandt was having less joy for Miami, as Ali Ahmed did a good job of tracking back and helping his left back, Tate Johnson, but Weigandt still had a few good moments on the ball.
For the struggles they had defensively in dealing with Alba and Weigandt, however, the Whitecaps were hoping for a trade-off by keeping their wingers forward - they felt there was space for them to run into on the counter-attack.
In the first half, the Whitecaps had a few dangerous counterattacks where Miami were caught with numbers high up the pitch, and then the floodgates opened in the second half, with both of the Whitecaps' early second-half goals coming from those situations.
GOAL 🏔️🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 1, 2025
ANOTHER GOAL FOR THE WHITECAPS 😱
Pedro Vite catches the 'keeper with the 2nd in this 1-2 punch and #VWFC have one foot in the #ConcaChampions final 🏆
INTER MIAMI NEED 4 in 36 minutes or they are OUT 🥶 pic.twitter.com/8ACOEo47Su
More specifically, the second half attacks really stood out, as the Whitecaps seemed to have a much more clear idea of what to do in the final third. In the first half, they rushed several chances, but in the second half, they were much more patient, which allowed them to pick out the right pass.
That’s a credit to how they adjusted at half time, but it also speaks to Miami’s downfall in this tie - they just never seemed to have a plan B. Their plan A worked pretty well, but it’s clear that the Whitecaps had planned and prepared for that plan, and were willing to adjust their plan to match it.
In the first leg, that meant hitting more on the counter, and in this game, it meant targeting those wide areas, and Miami never had an answer to either of those tweaks.
GOAL 🗻🗻🗻
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 1, 2025
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'LL HAVE A CANADIAN TEAM IN THE CHAMPIONS CUP FINAL FOR JUST THE 3RD TIME EVER!
Sebastian Berhalter finishes things up with a great finish to put the @WhitecapsFC ahead 5-1 on aggregate and 3-1 on the night.
🔴 Watch Inter Miami vs. #VWFC in… pic.twitter.com/zvKtCCpZag
Because of that, while Miami will bemoan some missed chances from the first half, which could’ve broken this game in their favour had they tied the aggregate score, they’ll look back and realize that wasn’t what cost them in the defeat, but instead how they adjusted in the moments where the Whitecaps switched things up on them.
Whitecaps defence holds strong again:
It will probably get lost in the shuffle of this result, especially given how good the Whitecaps were offensively, but another big storyline from this tie? That the Whitecaps kept Miami’s attack to just one goal across 180 minutes of play.
Given that Miami played Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba for the entirety of both legs, it’s no small feat, as they were able to keep those stars mostly quiet, at least by their standards.
Other than Alba’s goal, which was assisted by Suárez, that’d be the only goal involvements the ‘big four’ would have across the tie - in particular, that Messi wasn’t involved in that goal stands out big, as it’s not often that he stays off the board in any game, let alone across both legs of a continental semi-final.
The Vancouver Whitecaps are the first club to win their first two matches against Lionel Messi.
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 1, 2025
EVER. 😶#ConcaChampions | #VWFC pic.twitter.com/uHAcH1rhnD
Typically, these are the games where he shines biggest, and yet, he ended up being a secondary figure in this tie.
Certainly, it must be said that the Whitecaps did have a bit of luck on their side. Messi did come close to scoring and assisting on a couple occasions, as he generated chances that otherwise might’ve led to goals, but that’s this sport - sometimes you need some luck.
Plus, as the saying goes, you need to be good to be lucky, and the Whitecaps defence was quite good.
After holding Miami to just 0.53 xG on nine shots in leg one, they only conceded 1.55 xG on 17 shots in this second leg - and over half of that 1.55 xG and those shots came after the Whitecaps scored their first goal, the one that essentially sealed this tie.
Other than that flurry in the last 30 minutes of this game, the Whitecaps hardly gave up much over the first 135 minutes of this tie, and credit has to go to their defence for that.
In particular, centre backs Ranko Veselinovic and Tristan Blackmon were immense - they had excellent performances in both legs - but they also had support from their full backs, with Edier Ocampo and Tate Johnson putting in big shifts in both legs, and with Sam Adekugbe helping out in this second leg.
They didn’t just rise to the task defensively, but made several key interventions when called upon, and got the better of a matchup that some worried might overwhelm them.
Yet, they continue to be the quiet story of this season. For all of the talk about how good the Whitecaps are offensively, given how freely they’ve scored in this competition and in MLS, their defensive record has been quite impressive.
That’s been shown in MLS play, where they’ve conceded just seven goals in 10 games, but even in this competition, where they’ve conceded nine in eight, that stands out given the calibre of opposition played, with this game being the best example of that.
If you’re going to be able to make a deep run in a tournament like this, you need to be good defensively, and the Whitecaps have certainly done that. 
Player of the Match:
Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
For a third straight game, Berhalter has stepped up and earned the player of the match, but this one will be bittersweet. No doubt, he was dominant - he had one goal and two assists, coming as part of a night where he created four chances, had one shot, made eight passes into the final third, won one tackle, made two clearances, had two interceptions and made five recoveries - but he also picked up a yellow card that will rule him out of the final.
That’ll be a big blow for the Whitecaps, as they can thank him for playing a big role in getting them to this stage, and this game was another example of how he’s done that.
What’s Next:
The Whitecaps will have little time to rest before they shift their focus back to MLS play, as they get set to host Real Salt Lake at BC Place on Saturday, May 3rd (6:30 p.m. PT). Meanwhile, Inter Miami will also play at home, as they host the New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium earlier that same Saturday (4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET).
As for the final, that will be played on June 1st between the Whitecaps and either Tigres or Cruz Azul - if those teams advance with a leg two draw, the match will be held at BC Place, but if they win leg two, it’ll be held at their respective stadiums in Mexico.
Watch the Concacaf Champions Cup live on OneSoccer. For a full list of what games will be available in round one, click here. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.
