SEASON PREVIEW: Will the Vancouver Whitecaps be able to build on 2025 success amid off-field worries?
After years of steady improvement, the Vancouver Whitecaps took a big leap forward in 2025, becoming one of Major League Soccer’s elite teams.
No longer satisfied with being a middle-of-the-pack side that would comfortably make the playoffs but not really push for the league’s biggest trophies, they changed that reputation in a big way in 2026.
Unfortunately, they came up short of actually winning some of the biggest trophies on offer to them, as they lost in the finals of the Concacaf Champions Cup and MLS Cup, and finished three points behind the Philadelphia Union in the Supporters’ Shield race, although they did reclaim the Canadian Championship for a fourth straight year (and got a trophy for being crowned MLS’s Western Conference playoff champions), so not all was bad.
Now, though, they face a big challenge - building on what they did in 2025. It’s one thing to take that step and claim elite status, but it’s a whole other thing to maintain it, as it’s a lot harder to remain on top of your game when the rest of the league knows what you’re all about.
Given that they didn’t actually lift the sort of trophies the club has long dreamed of competing for (with all due respect to the Canadian Championship), it feels like this year is ‘trophy or bust’ for the Whitecaps, which will bring a certain level of pressure that they’ll have to get used to on top of that, too.
Yet, that just shows the challenge that head coach Jesper Sørensen faces this season. After surprising with the work he did to improve a largely unchanged group in 2025, he’ll want to prove that what he did was no fluke.
Now armed with the club’s first true superstar of their MLS era in Thomas Müller, and a still strong squad, Sørensen has the pieces to do that, but they’ll have to tune out the noise of their own pressure, and of their murky off-the-field future, to achieve their goals this season.
2025 record:
MLS: 18W-9D-7L (63 PTS), MLS Cup finalist
Canadian Championship: Winner
Concacaf Champions Cup: Finalist
2026 Expectations:
After coming so close to winning the Concacaf Champions Cup, Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup in 2025, the Whitecaps goal is simple in 2026 - win one of those trophies, or the Leagues Cup (which they’ll participate in after not featuring last year), as they desperately want to add some major silverware to a trophy cabinet that is so far only filled with Voyageurs Cup and Cascadia Cup trophies during their MLS era.
In order of importance, though, it remains to be seen what their priority will be when it comes to chasing those four trophies.
At first glance, one would suggest the Concacaf Champions Cup will be their big goal, but that might be their hardest trophy to win, as they’ll have to balance a busy early MLS schedule and the added wrinkle of venue availability headaches due to the World Cup. By the same token, though, the Supporters’ Shield will also be quite difficult to win, given the severely imbalanced and congested schedule the Whitecaps have.
Because of that, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Whitecaps peak in time for the Leagues Cup at the end of summer and the MLS Cup playoffs in the fall, especially if they can make some key additions to their squad in the summer.
Otherwise, lifting a fifth straight Voyageurs Cup is an expectation, not a desire, although it’s no secret that the Whitecaps would love to win that and combine it with a double or even a treble of some sort.
How will they play?
The Whitecaps established a clear identity under Sørensen in 2025, so expect them to build on it in 2026.
To put it simply, they’re a team that wants to control all phases of the game, doing so with their strong possession game and aggressive defensive style, which allows them to wear down opponents.
At the same time, while the principles of Sørensen’s system are quite rigid, the tactical set-up itself can be fluid. The Whitecaps showed that as the year went on, as after starting the season with a 4-3-3, they switched to a 4-2-3-1 to better accommodate Thomas Müller’s arrival, showing that Sørensen’s main priority is to get the best out of what he has, instead of sticking with one set system.
Therefore, when looking at this team, expect them to be slightly different in the attack after the departure of wingers Ali Ahmed and Jayden Nelson, who were integral pieces in Sørensen’s 2025 team. With a lack of clear replacements for the speed and 1v1 play of Ahmed and Nelson, Sørensen could tweak his set-up to ensure the width comes from other places, for example, while pushing this team to be more dominant in the middle.
Yet, that was the story of the Whitecaps last year - they were extremely good at adjusting their game plan based on who they had available, which helped them overcome a lengthy injury list, while ensuring that the players they did have were best set up to succeed.
There’s a reason why seemingly every Whitecaps player had career years, as Sørensen did a great job of ensuring that his system elevated the talent he had available to him.
Star player: Thomas Müller
It didn’t take long for Thomas Müller to make an impact on this team, as he quickly assumed a leadership role on and off the field after his arrival last August, fitting in as the perfect superstar for a Whitecaps team that hasn’t had one of this calibre in their MLS era.
He was quite effective in his role, too, scoring nine goals and adding four assists in 13 appearances, although it’s worth noting that a handful of his goals came via the penalty spot, and he had a bit of a quiet playoffs as he dealt with an injury. When healthy, though, he was a clear difference-maker, so it’ll be expected that this offseason break will have done him a world of good after grinding through a long 2024-2025 season with Bayern Munich.
With Ryan Gauld’s continuing knee issues, it feels like Müller is now already the face of the Whitecaps attack - now, the Whitecaps will hope he can bring Best XI-level production to the table all season long, elevating an already dangerous attack to another level.
Underrated contributor: Sebastian Berhalter
It’s a credit to the Whitecaps that you could name their entire roster and not have many players sit out of place here, but it feels unfair to name anyone but Sebastian Berhalter in this section.
Yes, it’s hard to say that someone who made MLS’s Best XI last year is underrated, but considering how out of nowhere his rise was, he can stay here, for now.
The biggest reason for that is that he was essentially the perfect personification of the 2025 Vancouver Whitecaps - after being a bargain acquisition a few years ago, he blossomed into a force on both sides of the ball, while providing excellent leadership and a penchant for performing in big games.
Therefore, even if he doesn’t replicate the remarkable eight goals and 13 assists he generated last year, he’ll be a key piece for this team as long as he’s on it - the biggest challenge they’ll have, if anything, is to keep him on the team, as his performance last year will have certainly attracted suitors in Europe.
Breakout candidate: Ralph Priso
It’s remarkable what a year can do for someone. At the beginning of 2025, Ralph Priso was just fighting to earn minutes as a depth piece in midfield. By the end, he was one of the best Whitecaps players in the MLS Cup playoffs… while playing a new position, as a centre back.
In fact, he was so good at centre back that he’ll play there full time in 2026, which could elevate him to new heights for the Whitecaps and perhaps even open the door to him playing at the World Cup for the CanMNT if he plays like he did last fall.
Because of that, it’ll be fascinating to see if he can pick up where he left off this spring. With Ranko Veselinovic still out for a bit, Priso will likely start alongside 2025 MLS Defender of the Year Tristan Blackmon to begin the year, where he’ll have the chance to show that he can be a force at the position long-term.
He does that, and it feels like big things will be in store for him in 2026.
Biggest addition: Cheikh Sabaly
Between the likes of Andrés Cubas and Emmanuel Sabbi, the Whitecaps have done well to shop in France in recent years, so they’ll hope they can replicate some of that success with Cheikh Sabaly, who arrives from Ligue 1 side FC Metz.
He hasn’t had the most productive of 2025-2026 seasons so far in France’s top flight, but he was excellent in Ligue 2 last year, scoring 15 goals and adding three assists, and he’s fresh off winning the African Cup of Nations with Senegal earlier this year, so you can’t help but be intrigued by what the 26-year-old attacker can bring to the table.
Able to play as both a striker and a winger, he seems a prime candidate to start the year on the wing as Ryan Gauld recovers from a minor knee injury, so look for him to bring more goals to an already balanced attack paced by Müller, Sabbi and the always-reliable Brian White.
Elsewhere, more long-term, keep an eye on Bruno Caicedo, who was signed as a U22 initiative player - the Whitecaps have had a pretty decent hit rate on those kinds of players, but they’ve typically taken a bit of time to adjust. By that same token, Kenji Cabrera, who was signed as a U22 initiative player last summer, could also be a good breakout candidate after showing good flashes last fall, further highlighting the depth the Whitecaps have in attack.
What is a good season?
If the Whitecaps lift multiple trophies. Given their depth and pedigree (as well as how the other Canadian MLS teams have performed), winning the Canadian Championship almost feels like a guarantee, so they’ll want to get the job done there and win at least one of the other trophies on offer.
After the season they had, and the arrival of a serial winner in Müller, the time is now for the Whitecaps to establish themselves as a force in MLS. 
What is a bad season?
If they let their off-the-field troubles distract them. It’s no secret that there is a lot of noise surrounding the Whitecaps about their stadium issues and a potential sale, with the threat of relocation seeming more and more possible by the day.
Last year, they didn’t let that affect them, and they had the most successful season of their MLS era, but they’ll have to find a way to do that again. It must be remembered that a successful Whitecaps season will only help them further attract interest for a sale and open the door for them to build the new stadium they’ve long been waiting for.
No pressure.
