ANALYSIS + HIGHLIGHTS: Whitecaps open 2026 CCC campaign with frustrating 0-0 leg 1 draw vs. Cartaginés

The Vancouver Whitecaps opened their 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign on a bit of a frustrating note, as they drew Costa Rican side C.S. Cartaginés 0-0 in the first leg of their tie at Estadio José Rafael Fello Meza in Cartago on Wednesday. 

It wasn't for a lack of trying, as the Whitecaps outshot Cartaginés 16 to seven across 90 minutes, but they were unable to find enough quality chances, as they generated just 1.16 xG. 

Yet, credit has to be given to Cartaginés in that regard, as they were resolute defensively, doing well to keep the Whitecaps away from their goal, even despite holding just 24% of possession. 

Cartaginés will still face an uphill battle to qualify despite this draw, as they'll now need to get a result away to a Whitecaps team that was excellent at home in 2025, but they'll be pleased that they were able to keep the Whitecaps from nabbing an away goal, which gives them a bit of an edge heading into leg two. 

To begin the game, though, it didn't look like they'd hold on for such a result, as the Whitecaps came out flying in the first few minutes. 

After some early possession, Sebastian Berhalter looked to get the action going for the visitors, as he had a probing shot from distance, forcing a nice save out of Kevin Briceno. 

Then, in the 17th minute, Emmanuel Sabbi had his team's best chance up to that point, as he attempted an overhead kick after a scramble in the box, but his goalbound attempt was cleared off the line by a defender. 

Continuing to probe in search of a goal, the Whitecaps had another good look in the 34th minute, as Andrés Cubas lashed a dangerous volley towards goal, but Briceno came up with the save again. 

Yet, despite a solid first half, one in which the Whitecaps generated 10 shots and 0.87 xG, they'd be unable to find the net, leaving them with a lot to do in the second half. 

On the other side of the half-time, Juan Carlos Gaete almost punished the Whitecaps and put Cartaginés in front, as he did well to turn and fire a shot from just inside the box, but his attempt flashed well wide of the goal. 

From there, though, the game slowed down, which favoured the hosts. As a result, quality chances were hard to come by for the Whitecaps the rest of the game, who had to settle for a handful of speculative attempts, most of them coming from distance. 

Despite inserting the likes of Thomas Müller and AZ Jackson off the bench, the Whitecaps just didn't have the combination play to unlock the Cartaginés defence, as they did well to protect their goal en route to a hard-earned clean sheet. 

The good news for the Whitecaps is that this is just the first game of the year, so they won't want to get too worried about not scoring. It must be remembered that they opened their 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign with a defeat in Costa Rica, and they then went on to reach the final of the tournament, so it's far too early for them to hit the panic button. 

Plus, for all of the frustrations they'll have had with their offensive play, they'll be pleased with how they defended, as they kept a very comfortable clean sheet despite playing in a hostile environment. 

Overall, though, this is a team that wants to win every game that they play, so while they'll take the positives from this draw, they'll dwell on how it ended. 

At the same time, what this shows that despite the success they had last year, they'll have work to do to build on it going forward, especially knowing that they'll now be getting the best version of teams in every game that they play. Certainly, Cartaginés made sure that was the case in this game, and will hope to do so again in leg two, even if they'll be heavy underdogs in that game. 

BOX SCORE

Lineups

C.S. Cartaginés: Briceno; Faerrón, López (Alfaro 81'), Mesen, Barahona Jimenez; Núñez (Fernandez 85'), Flores Cordero, Gonzalez (Montero 46'); Márquez (Venegas 66'), Gaete (Pereira 66'), Zúñiga 

Vancouver Whitecaps: Takaoka; Ocampo, Blackmon, Laborda, Johnson; Berhalter, Cubas (Müller 66'); Sabbi (Jackson 46'), Badwal (Larraz 79'), Cabrera (Ngando 85'); White (Elloumi 79')

Goals

N/A

Discipline

54' —  Yellow Card: Cristopher Núñez (C.S. Cartaginés)

60' —  Yellow Card: Douglas López (C.S. Cartaginés)

62' —  Yellow Card: Édier Ocampo (Vancouver Whitecaps)

63' —  Yellow Card: Andrés Cubas (Vancouver Whitecaps)

89' —  Yellow Card: Oliver Larraz (Vancouver Whitecaps)

OneSoccer Player of the Match

Jeevan Badwal, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

The young Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder was lively in a starting role, covering all sorts of ground on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, he generated two shots and created two big chances (including one big chance), also completing one dribble, three passes into the final third and winning one foul, while defensively, he also had two tackles, two recoveries, and won seven out of 10 duels. 

What’s next?

The second leg of this tie will be played in Vancouver at BC Place on Wednesday, February 25th.

In the meantime, the Whitecaps will open their MLS season with a clash against Real Salt Lake at BC Place on Saturday, February 21st, while Cartaginés will host AD Municipal Liberia in Costa Rica Primera Division action on Sunday, February 22nd 

Watch all 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup matches live in Canada on OneSoccer.