"We have that experience together": The Whitecaps feel as ready as ever for Inter Miami test in the CCC SFs
This has been a long time coming for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Three games is all that lies between them and continental glory, as they’ve reached the semi-finals of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup, where they’ll face Inter Miami across two legs, with the first match at BC Place on Thursday.
The second time they’ve ever reached the stage of the competition, this one certainly feels different than their last run, however, which came back in 2017. There, the Whitecaps had to get out of a group with Sporting Kansas City and Central FC, and then took down the New York Red Bulls in the quarter-finals, before falling to Tigres UANL in the semi-finals.
This time, the journey has been much more arduous, as the Whitecaps had to get past CD Saprissa in the first round, CF Monterrey in the Round of 16, and Pumas UNAM in the quarter-finals, as the tournament has shifted to a straight knockout format.
Yet, thanks to that, they’ve been able to build a bit of momentum on and off the field, which has crescendoed with this Miami match, which will be played in front of a sold-out crowd at BC Place in leg one. Of course, that is in large part thanks to the presence of Lionel Messi on Inter Miami, as fans clamour to see the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, but there is a sense that the city also wants to get behind the Whitecaps in a crucial match.
Is this the BIGGEST MATCH in Vancouver Whitecaps history? 👀
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That’s why this match is so exciting, however. On one hand, it’s a big game for the Whitecaps, but it’s also a chance to see an upstart Whitecaps side to test themselves against some of the best players to have ever played the game, led by Messi.
“We have to have a realistic approach,” Whitecaps head coach, Jesper Sørensen, said this week. “You cannot say that this is just an ordinary game, because it's not. It's a semi-final in a very important competition, an opportunity to get to the final, which this club has never done before.”
EVERY. #VWFC. GOAL. 🇨🇦
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Relive the Vancouver Whitecaps' #ConcaChampions journey to the semi-finals with every goal they've scored in the tournament (so far) in 2025 ✨
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Now, however, the big thing to watch will be how the Whitecaps handle the occasion. In the past, they’ve struggled in big games like this, leading to some earlier than anticipated exits in this tournament, the Leagues Cup and in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Three straight Canadian Championship victories have helped ease some of that pain, but this is a team that wants to be one of the best in North America, and that requires success in those aforementioned competitions.
Now, however, they’ve shown that they’re ready to compete at that level. Armed with the scar tissue built up from those past losses, they showed that in their ties vs. Monterrey and Pumas, in particular, where they did a great job of taking care of a bogeyman that has often haunted them in the form of Mexican teams.
“Yeah, I think getting through Pumas and Monterrey was big for us,” Whitecaps striker, Brian White, said. “In years prior, we’ve been in these games, such as in the Leagues Cup, where we played well, and then it goes to PKs and we lose, and we just missed that final piece to kind of get over that hump.”
“Maybe we weren't familiar with those kinds of moments, but I think as the years have gone by, we've lived through them with a number of the same players in this same group who have been here for a few years now. We have that experience together, we’ve been able to grow from that together, and hopefully we can use all those experiences and learn from them as we’ve done in this competition (so far).”
Of course, if the Whitecaps are to keep the good times rolling, they’ll need to pull out some magic to get by this Miami team, who are an offensive juggernaut, led by Messi.
To the Whitecaps' credit, they’re well-equipped to handle that challenge - there’s a reason why they’re also currently first in the MLS Supporters Shield race, sitting top two in goals for, goals against, expected goals for and expected goals against, but this is a test of a calibre they haven’t faced yet.
Thanks to the arrival of Sørensen, he’s pushed this team to another level, employing a controlled possession style that allows them to dominate games on both sides of the ball.
Having struggled to hold onto the ball in years past, they’re now one of the best in MLS, and it’s not as if they’re just holding onto the ball to statpad the possession stat - they’re turning that possession into goals, and are also using it to help them defend.
Now, however, this system will face a significant assessment, as this Miami team employs a similar style of play to the Whitecaps, designed to get the most out of Messi, who is at his best when he gets on the ball often.
Can the Whitecaps continue to hold onto the ball and limit Miami’s effectiveness? That’s the million-dollar question that very well might decide the tie, and Sørensen knows that.
“Yeah, of course it's a battle in itself, right?” he said. “We know that they have players who are very good with the ball, but if we can prevent them from having it that much, then it will be an advantage for us. But football is all about balance, because you want to attack when the space is open for it, you can't just be holding onto the ball all game, you have to go for it. I think we have so far found a good balance where we have attacked a lot, but without exposing ourselves too much defensively, and that's the balance you always seek when you play. We want to hold on to the ball, but we also know there will be spells where they will also hold onto the ball, which will be interesting.”
“I trust that we can handle both situations - if we have to defend, we’ll defend well, we've been able to do that, but when we have the ball, we have to hold on to it until the right moment to attack.”
Meanwhile, from Miami’s perspective, they’re also very aware of what this Whitecaps team is about, and are also looking to impose themselves on the game.
They might not be a team they see often, but they know what’s at stake and have prepared accordingly, as they noted before this game.
“I was watching them, and they play well,” Inter Miami head coach, Javier Mascherano offered. “They have very good players up front, they have good wingers, strikers, and midfielders, and they all play together. They’ve scored a lot of goals, and haven’t conceded many goals. These are 2 teams that are in a good moment, so hopefully my team can have a good game, play narrow to try and stop them because they are very dangerous in attack, but we also want to hold the ball, we want to be the protagonists.”
Magisterial ✨
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Here's EVERY GOAL scored by Inter Miami's Lionel Messi in the 2025 #ConcaChampions (so far) 🏆
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For what it’s worth, Miami does have one player who is quite familiar with this Whitecaps team, helping give them a bit of an edge in the scouting department - Fafà Picault, who spent 2024 in Vancouver, scoring 10 goals and adding eight assists in his lone season with the club.
Granted, these Whitecaps play a lot differently than what Picault’s used to after Sørensen’s arrival, but the group hasn’t changed as much, so Picault has made sure to check on his old teammates from time to time, having carried fond memories from his time with the club.
“It's a very united group dynamic, and they’re a dangerous team,” Picault noted. “They’re an exciting team to watch, I’ve watched them from a friend's standpoint, but now as an opponent, and there are so many strengths to that side, but there are also weaknesses, which we studied.”
Returning to the Whitecaps, however, it feels like this could be the start of what comes for this team going forward.
THE SIT-DOWN 🎙️
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Now that they’ve made this deep run in this tournament, they want to make it a habit, as they want to be a side that is constantly finding themselves on the business end of competitions like this, especially this fall in the MLS Cup playoffs.
It’s been a long journey to get to this point, but now that they’re here, they don’t want to leave anytime soon - lifting silverware is the main goal, especially when it comes to this CCC run.
“A few years ago, coming to the team, we weren't looked at as a good team, we weren't winning many games, we were near the bottom of the table,” White said. “But every year we've gotten better and better, and have caught more eyes and attention. It gives me pride to see how far the club has come in the short time that I've been here, and hopefully, we can continue to get better.”
