Whitecaps proving doubters wrong, silence Messi with Inter Miami sweep

Major League Soccer’s official website unknowingly gave the Vancouver Whitecaps some extra motivation when it published its regular-season preview package back in February. 

The league convened a special panel of experts — featuring writers, TV commentators and former players — who offered their prognostications on where each of the league’s 30 teams would finish in the final standings at the end of the 2025 MLS campaign. 

Eight out of the nine panelists predicted the Whitecaps would fail to make the playoffs, with one of them saying they would end up dead last in the Western Conference. Former New York Red Bulls star Bradley Wright-Phillips was the only one who felt Vancouver would qualify for the post-season. But even he hedged his bet a little bit by predicting they would come in eighth place in the West — only the top nine teams go to the playoffs. 

That blatant lack of respect no doubt stirred something inside Vancouver, as the West Coast side has made those same panelists look incredibly foolish. The Whitecaps currently sit atop the overall MLS standings with a 7-1-2 record and boast the league’s best attack and defence. That Vancouver is the best team in MLS at the moment is beyond question. But the Canadian outfit is now on the cusp of being recognized as the best club in all of North American soccer. 

Fresh off a 2-0 home win over Inter Miami in last week’s opening match of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals, the Whitecaps finished off Lionel Messi and his cohorts in Wednesday’s second leg in Florida. Brian White, Pedro Vite and Sebastian Berhalter scored second-half goals to propel Vancouver to a come-from-behind 3-1 victory and a 5-1 win in the aggregate series. 

Vancouver now advances to the finals of the continental competition on June 1 where it will meet the winner of the other semifinal between Mexican league rivals Tigres and Cruz Azul. The Whitecaps are just 90 minutes away from becoming the first Canadian team to be crowned the kings of Concacaf, something that both Toronto FC and CF Montreal failed to do when they previously reached the finals of this tournament when it was known as the Concacaf Champions League. 

The Whitecaps previously flew under the radar while quietly progressing through this year’s Champions Cup, dispatching Costa Rican outfit Deportivo Saprissa in the first round, and then advancing at the expense of Mexico’s C.F. Monterrey and Club Universidad Nacional via the away goals rule. But what Vancouver did in the semifinals was anything but quiet, forcing everybody to stand up and take notice of the way it dismantled Miami over the two legs.  

A record crowd of 53,837 fans packed BC Place to witness the Whitecaps tear apart Messi and his teammates in the opener. Despite Miami’s star power, it was White who garnered most of the attention from the crowd on the night, highlighted by his opening goal via a header that sailed past goalkeeper Oscar Ustari in the 25th minute. Sebastian Berhalter’s goal with five minutes left in regulation capped off a magical night for the ‘Caps. 

On Wednesday in Miami, White was at it again when his tournament-leading sixth goal in the 51st minute marked the beginning of Vancouver’s memorable comeback. It was the U.S. international striker’s 12th goal in 16 appearances in all competitions this season. Maybe instead of all the pre-semifinal hype focusing on Messi, a little more attention should have been paid to the in-form White, who earlier on Wednesday was named the MLS player of the month for April. 

Berhalter underscored why he’s one of the best attacking midfielders in MLS — and perhaps one of the league’s most unheralded stars — by setting up the Whitecaps’ first two goals, and then put the nail in the coffin in the 71st minute when he drove a shot from inside the penalty area into the bottom-left corner. The box-to-box midfielder’s two goals and two assists across the two-legged series vs. Miami will certainly help him elevate his profile across MLS, although his suspension for the final due to yellow card accumulation will hurt Vancouver’s chances. 

And what about the defence? The Whitecaps’ back line, anchored by central defenders Tristan Blackmon and Ranko Veselinović, limited Miami’s high-powered attack to one goal over the two legs. Miami’s “big four” of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba were each on the pitch for all 180 minutes, but only Alba managed to find the back of the net. Argentinian midfielder Andrés Cubas also distinguished himself with his outstanding defensive work, constantly pestering Messi over the two legs to prevent his countryman from getting on the scoresheet. 

Credit also has to be given to new coach Jesper Sørensen for the way he’s helped the Whitecaps successfully navigate their way through two competitions at the same time early on in the season.  

Sørensen’s appointment as successor to the beloved Vanni Sartini felt underwhelming at the time. The Danish manager arrived in MLS in January without a big reputation, and his hiring seemed to show a lack of ambition from an ownership group, that includes former NBA star Steve Nash, who a month earlier publicly stated it was looking to sell the club.  

But Sørensen has proven to be an impeccable replacement for the excitable Sartini, as the club has found a new level under the mild-mannered Dane who has been spot on with his squad selections and tactics almost every step of the way. 

Four of the best teams in North America have already been vanquished. Only one more stands in Vancouver’s way of making history as only the second MLS team to hoist Concacaf Champions Cup trophy. Don’t bet against the Whitecaps — they’ve already proved the critics horribly wrong.