Despite Leg 1 win, the Whitecaps want to hit another gear vs. Inter Miami in leg 2 of CCC SFs
It was a perfect night.
In front of a sold-out BC Place crowd, the Vancouver Whitecaps put on a show that those who were in attendance will remember for years to come, as they defeated Inter Miami 2-0 in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semi-finals.
Despite facing off against a Miami team littered with stars, it’d be the plucky Whitecaps, who many predicted wouldn’t even make the playoffs this year after a rocky offseason, who’d steal the show on the day, sending the home fans happy after their performance.
“It was an amazing evening, and an amazing atmosphere,” Whitecaps head coach, Jesper Sørensen, said afterwards. “Playing in an amazing stadium with all of those fans, we thank them for coming out, as it was exciting. If you can't be excited about a night like tonight, then it must be difficult (to ever be excited).”
Thanks to that, the Whitecaps carry a significant lead to Miami, where they’re on the precipice of history, sitting just 90 minutes away from reaching their first-ever continental final.
It won’t be easy to get the job done in Miami - if there is a team capable of turning around a 2-0 deficit, one led by Lionel Messi will have as good of a shot as any - but the Whitecaps have certainly put themselves in a good position to do so. In particular, that they kept a clean sheet in leg one is seen as a big advantage, due to the away goals rule - now, Miami need to score two goals to force extra time, and need at least three to win outright - and should the Whitecaps score, Miami will need four goals to advance; anything less wouldn’t be enough.
Compared to the Whitecaps' Round of 16 and quarter-finals performances, which saw them draw 1-1 to Liga MX sides CF Monterrey and Pumas UNAM at home in the first leg of each of those ties, putting them at a disadvantage ahead of the second leg, this is a nice change.
At the same time, while they know that they’ve got more leeway this time around, make no mistake - they want to channel that same mindset they had in leg two vs. Monterrey and Pumas, which saw them pick up 2-2 draws in each round, advancing on away goals both times.
Even though they don’t need to score in this second leg, and have at least a goal to give defensively, the Whitecaps want to carry that mindset that they’ll be the aggressors and want to be the team that controls proceedings. Given that’s been their style of play all year under Sørensen, who has revolutinzed their way of playing, that’s not surprising to see, but one can only wonder - will that risk be worth it?
Vancouver wanted a magic moment – and Sebastian Berhalter delivered it ✨#VWFC | #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/WxTr4RsmoI
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 25, 2025
So far, however, every risk the Whitecaps have taken seems to have paid off, and there’s no better example of that than this past weekend, where the Whitecaps rotated their squad heavily for a crucial MLS matchup against Minnesota United, and still got a commanding win while keeping bodies fresh for this match.
In fact, given that Sørensen felt his team were far from their best in leg one vs. Miami, at least in terms of how they want to play, it shouldn’t come as a shock to see him preach that he wants his team to return to that style of play in leg two.
“In the last two rounds, we drew the first leg, and it was easy for us, because we knew we had to score away,” he explained. “We should not speculate about how this game is going to go if they score, we should go out and see if we can score a goal, and if we do, try to score another. We will have to defend well under pressure, we will try to do that, but we will also try to take our chances.”
That sentiment is echoed by the players, who held a season-low 31% of possession in that Miami game, well below their 2025 average of 54.22%.
“We tried to have the ball, but it didn’t go to plan,” Whitecaps midfielder, Andrés Cubas, said after the match via an interpreter. “But we know that they have great players that can manage the ball in possession, the game just turned out that way, so that’s something we could be better at, being more of a protagonist in the second leg, but we showed today that we can still play in different ways.”
In a sense, however, that the Whitecaps won leg one while not playing their way will be what scares this Miami team the most. Whenever the Whitecaps have played their new style of play this year, they’ve tended to do pretty well - that they’ve reached this stage of the Champions Cup, and are also still first in MLS’s Supporters Shield race with a record of 7W-2D-1L (23 PTS), demonstrates that.
WHAT A START. 🔥
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) April 27, 2025
The 'Caps keep making history with 7 wins in their first 10 MLS matches - their best start ever in the MLS-era.#VWFC | #TogetherWeDare pic.twitter.com/kRsrkRfIYl
What they showed in results like that Miami first leg, and in some other matches, though, is that they can win while not at their best, too. If they need, they’re content to roll up their sleeves, as they had to do at BC Place last week.
Yet, that’s been a big factor that has flown under the radar amid this run. No doubt, these Whitecaps are incredibly fun to watch, but they’re showing some impressive ruthlessness, which is a credit to how this group has developed over the years.
In past seasons, they’ve made a habit of falling flat in the biggest moments - now, they’re rising to those occasions, as they did in leg one, and will look to do again in leg two.
“It’s a new year, and this is a new group,” midfielder Sebastian Berhalter offered. “We all came together and realized that we're good enough to win, no more losing the last second or not getting over the line, this is who we are as a team, and we’ve got to keep going.”
It might seem simple to say, but clearly, they’re backing up their words, as the results show.
“We want to win. It’s that simple - we want to win,” forward Jayden Nelson added. “And that's our mindset going to the game, and we’ll look to carry that momentum into the second leg.”
GOAL 🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 25, 2025
BRIAN WHITE OPENS THE SCORING FOR THE VANCOUVER WHITECAPS 💥
🔴 Watch #VWFC vs. Inter Miami in #ConcaChampions SF LEG 1 on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/8weXjpOeKm
Now, as Nelson mentions, the Whitecaps will look to carry that energy over to leg two, where they’ll expect a fired-up Miami side, who lost to FC Dallas 4-3 this past weekend, doing so despite leading that match 3-1.
Having rested Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets for that match, it’s a clear sign of their intent - their focus lies on Vancouver.
After seeing Messi held off the scoresheet at BC Place, where he faced a stiff Whitecaps defensive performance and a crowd that spent a large chunk of the night booing him, he’ll have a little extra motivation to step up in this game.
Just look at what he did to get Miami to this stage, as after a 1-0 loss to LAFC in leg one of the quarter-finals, he stepped up with a two-goal, one-assist performance in leg two, something he’d love to replicate on Wednesday.
“He’s difficult to play against,” Whitecaps forward, Brian White, said. “His resume speaks for itself, his quality on the ball, it’s obvious, so it’s difficult, it takes a full team effort, and everyone is there to back each other up.”
On the flipside, while Messi will be fired up, so will be White, who opened the scoring in leg one, and is already up to 10 goals on the season.
Along with someone like Pedro Vite, who had a brace against Minnesota this weekend, and the countless others the Whitecaps have had step up, they’ll be ready to embrace this challenge.
At the end of the day, while Miami is a team littered with individual talent, the Whitecaps' strength has been the collective, as they’ve got a group of player committed to playing for each other and their head coach.
They’ve risen to the challenge all tournament long - now, with a spot in the final on the line, why stop there?
“Our mindset is going to be the same,” White said. “We know it’s going to be a tough game; they have the quality to turn this ship around, so we’ll be focused on getting the result.”
