PREVIEW: Can the Vancouver Whitecaps build on historic campaign in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs?
The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their journey through the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs this weekend, as they get set to take on FC Dallas in the first game of their first-round, best-of-three series.
After being eliminated at this stage in two straight seasons, falling to LAFC in the first round in both 2023 and 2024, the Whitecaps are hoping for a deeper run this time around, as they’re coming off a historic campaign.
The @WhitecapsFC lift the Voyageurs Cup trophy for the fifth time in their history 🏆🔵
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 2, 2025
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer & TSN 4/5 pic.twitter.com/ji7EcgZxIA
Not only did they set a club record for points in an MLS season and win their fourth straight Canadian Championship, but they also made a deep run in the Concacaf Champions Cup, reaching the final of that tournament for the first time in their history. They came up short on that day, losing 5-0 to Liga MX side Cruz Azul, but that doesn’t lessen the shine of an impressive run - especially when seeing how the Whitecaps have followed up the disappointment of that final defeat.
Typically, most teams that make a deep run into Concacaf competition usually pay a price with their domestic league form, but not the Whitecaps, who finished in fifth place in all of MLS, just three points behind eventual Supporters’ Shield winners, the Philadelphia Union.
When looking at that, you can’t help but wonder where the Whitecaps could’ve finished had they not juggled playing in Concacaf earlier in the season, or had they not been gutted by international absences for a few matches in the summer, and not to mention what they’d have done without the rash the injuries they suffered from June onwards.
Yet, that’s been the story of the Whitecaps' season - they just keep finding a way to stay competitive, even despite all of the hurdles they’ve continued to jump through on and off the pitch, such as the hiring of a new coach or the club being put up for sale. Now, they’ll want to crown a special campaign by lifting their first-ever MLS Cup, which would be a huge achievement for a team that has never reached the final four - even when the league was much smaller.
After coming up just short in their quest to lift the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Supporters’ Shield, an MLS Cup would be a pretty good consolation prize, especially alongside the Voyageurs Cup (and a berth back into the Champions Cup for a fourth straight season).
With that in mind, here’s everything you NEED to know about the Whitecaps ahead of the start of their playoff journey.
Story of their season:
It’s been a season in three acts for the Whitecaps, and they’re hoping that the playoffs continue what was a pretty good third act, all things considered.
To start, they flew out of the gates in 2025, winning their first four MLS games, as they quickly hit the ground running after starting the year a bit earlier than most due to their Champions Cup obligations. In particular, that was quite impressive given that they’d only hired their new manager, Jesper Sørensen, not long before the preseason, as he ended up adapting quite quickly to a league that is notoriously tough on new coaches.
As a result, despite juggling the responsibilities of making a deep run in the Champions Cup, they lost just once in their first 16 MLS matches of the season, amassing a record of 10W-5D-1L (35 PTS) across that span - naturally, that run made many around the league quickly take note of the work done by Sørensen and his players.
Meanwhile, in the Champions Cup, they defeated Costa Rican side CD Saprissa 3-2 on aggregate in the first round, Mexican side CF Monterrey on away goals (3-3 aggregate score) in the Round of 16, Mexican side Pumas UNAM on away goals (3-3 aggregate score) in the quarter-finals and fellow MLS side Inter Miami 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, as they grinded their way to the final.
Eventually, that run came to a crashing halt in that final, which they lost 5-0 to Cruz Azul on June 1st, and that set the table for a rough June and July - they lost four of five games in MLS play between June 14th and July 12th, in what was their second act of the campaign.
¡FIN DEL PARTIDO! 🔚@CruzAzul es campeón de la Copa de Campeones Concacaf 2025. pic.twitter.com/J9xcS9Zjrw
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) June 2, 2025
They did well to recover from there, losing just twice the rest of the regular season, but a record of 7W-4D-2L (25 PTS) in their last 13 games was not enough to rescue that middle stretch of the season, at least when it came to the Supporters’ Shield race - and that even left them to finish second in the Western Conference, too.
Of course, sandwiched inside the second and third act was the Whitecaps' run to a fourth straight Canadian Championship win, as they beat Canadian Premier League sides Valour FC 4-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, Forge FC 6-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals and Vancouver FC 4-2 in the final to lift a fourth straight Voyageurs Cup, giving them at least one trophy this season.
Otherwise, the big story of the season for the Whitecaps was the summer transfer window, which ended up being quite eventful for them. It started slowly, as they sold impact contributor Pedro Vite to that same Pumas side they eliminated from the Champions Cup, but then they replaced him with the promising youngster Kenji Cabrera, which was seen as a decent move.
Little did people know, though, the Whitecaps wouldn’t be done there - they’d then sign German footballing legend, Thomas Müller, as a free agent, convincing the former World Cup and Champions League winner to continue the next chapter of his career in Vancouver after spending nearly two decades with German giants Bayern Munich.
Müller ended up playing a big role in the Whitecaps' strong end to the season, too, helping push the team to a new level on the pitch - and, as a bonus, he’s also significantly increased the profile of the side off the field, too, making them a team to watch in the playoffs.
THREE MLS YEAR END AWARD FINALISTS 🤩
— X - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 23, 2025
Coach of Year Finalist - Jesper Sørensen
Goalkeeper of the Year Finalist - Yohei Takaoka
Defender of the Year Finalist - Tristan Blackmon
Congratulations to our 'Caps finalists 👏
📰 | https://t.co/J5GIjzFoOA#VWFC pic.twitter.com/AnrQRYNSmp
Players to watch:
On that note, here are a few players to watch during the playoffs.
Thomas Müller:
Naturally, it’s only fair to start with Müller, who is a star of a calibre of which the Whitecaps haven’t ever had - certainly, he’s by far the biggest name they’ve attracted in their MLS era.
Despite his age (36), though, Müller quickly made it clear that he’d still have a big role to play on this side, as he’s scored seven goals and added three assists in MLS play, along with one goal and one assist in the Canadian Championship, to give him an impressive 12 goal contributions in just nine appearances.
MÜLLER SAVES US AT THE DEATH 🤯#VWFC | #ORLvVAN pic.twitter.com/nhvl8lxuHZ
— X - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 12, 2025
Some will be quick to point out that five of his eight goals were from the penalty spot, but even beyond that, he’s made an immediate impact on this team, with the biggest being that he’s seemed to make several of his teammates around him better - and we’re yet to see Müller get a lengthy run with key players like Brian White and Ryan Gauld, either, so we’re probably yet to see his best, either.
Sebastian Berhalter:
It’s been a breakout year for Berhalter, who has scored eight goals and added 13 assists across all competitions - smashing his career highs in both of those categories (set last year, when he had three goals and four assists for the Whitecaps).
A large reason for that, however, has been due to two big improvements - Berhalter has become a lot more lively offensively in open play, bringing a key element to his team’s attack with his late runs into the box, while also becoming a force on set-pieces with his excellent delivery.
SEBASTIAN BERHALTER FROM DISTANCE FOR OUR 90TH GOAL ACROSS ALL COMPETITIONS🔥
— X - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 5, 2025
He does more than assist 🤩#VWFC 3-0 #SJE pic.twitter.com/NaDy2fyHgh
Thanks to that, and his strong defensive play, he’s arguably been the team’s MVP, and that’s allowed him to earn a significant number of MLS Best XI votes, giving an idea of how those around the league have perceived his excellent performances.
Ali Ahmed:
Heading into this season, the knock on Ahmed was simple - he was an extremely effective player, especially in terms of his defending and ball progression, but his final third output needed significant improvement. That he entered this year with just four goals and one assist across his first two seasons with the Whitecaps told the whole story there.
This year, though, the Canadian international hit a whole new level this year under Sørensen - he now has three goals and 10 assists, smashing his career-high for goal contributions.
Come for the Ahmed speed and skill. ⚡
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 14, 2025
Stay for the Sabbi flip. 🤸♂️
Vancouver out to a 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/4TwOdapC7w
While some might suggest he could be even more dangerous in front of goal with his shooting, his playmaking has been a huge asset to this team’s attack, and he’s continued to be a ball progression and defensive force, so that’s been a trade-off the Whitecaps haven’t minded making - after all, it helps to have someone like Ahmed to tee up their many attacking threats.
Style of play:
One of the most fascinating aspects of Sørensen’s debut season, however, isn’t just the results his team has gotten, but how they’ve gotten them, as they’ve significantly altered their playing style from the more counter-attacking-based system they played under Vanni Sartini.
Now, they expect to control the ball for most of the game, forcing teams to suffer for large periods of the game without it.
Thanks to that, they’ve become an elite team on both sides of the ball, as their unrelenting possession style has proven capable of wearing down defences, while also being a pretty good form of defence, too - it’s hard to attack when you spend most of the game defending, after all.
The top gaffers this season. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/0XlYddoe0y
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 23, 2025
Because of that, the advanced numbers are a big fan of the Whitecaps - in MLS play, they had the best Expected Goal differential, having generated the third-most xG and conceded the second-fewest xG (not to mention that they were also third in goals for, second in goals against and first in goal differential).
Otherwise, here are some key numbers that also stand out - they were also sixth in MLS in possession (53.4%), conceded the second-fewest shots per game (1.12), had the third-best xG per shot (0.12), were third in passes into the box (341) and had the fourth-most progressive passes (1532).
Lastly, it’s worth noting that the Whitecaps altered their game model slightly after Müller’s arrival - not only did they shift from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1, but they press slightly less now - although that formation tweak hasn’t otherwise changed the way they play on the ball.
What they're saying:
“The margin of error, it’s not big. You have to play, not perfectly, but you have to be able to take advantage of the situations that can decide a game, as it’s those situations that are going to decide games in the playoffs. We would rather be a team where we have expectations, because that means that we’ve shown that we have quality and that we have been performing well, instead of being a team without expectations and underperforming. We have to accept that people will hold us accountable for the results we can create here in the playoffs.” – Whitecaps head coach, Jesper Sørensen
“The journey has been quite sensational for me with the Whitecaps and with these players. We are doing well, and I’ve been able to provide some goals and a little bit more than that, and that was always my goal: to bring something here. My job is not done yet, and I'm here to help the Whitecaps win the MLS Cup, and I'm also here to develop the team while preparing for the next season. So this is more than just a stay for four months, and this isn’t all in or nothing yet. But at the moment, we're in the playoffs, so I don't care about the future, I care about winning this (trophy).” – Whitecaps attacker, Thomas Müller
Best potential XI:
Takaoka
Ocampo-Laborda-Blackmon*-Johnson
Berhalter-Cubas
Gauld*-Müller-Ahmed
White*
Naturally, one big concern for the Whitecaps at this moment is the availability of some of their key players, as Ryan Gauld is just coming back from an injury, while Tristan Blackmon and Brian White are hoping to be back for the playoffs after missing the end of the season with ailments.
Because of that, the two concerns for the Whitecaps are at both ends of the field - Blackmon would be a huge boost at the back, given that the Whitecaps have been playing midfielder Ralph Priso at the position recently, while White would be a key return up front, given that he still leads the team in goals.
Otherwise, though, this team is in excellent shape - their only other big questions will be how to fit the likes of Priso, Jayden Nelson and Emmanuel Sabbi onto the pitch, as all have great claims to start, giving an idea of the Whitecaps’ strong depth, which has helped them navigate injuries and juggle playing in other competitions all season long.
*Recovering from injuries
Path towards MLS Cup:
1️⃣6️⃣ teams remaining.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 24, 2025
Only one will be crowned Champion. 👑 pic.twitter.com/WELptiystJ
While finishing second instead of first-place in the Western Conference isn’t as big of a hammerblow, it’s worth noting that significantly alters the Whitecaps path towards MLS Cup - now, they’ll play an FC Dallas side that actually beat them on the final matchday (although an early Whitecaps red card played a big role in that defeat), before likely getting set to face an LAFC side that has knocked them out of the playoffs in two straight years in the next round.
After that, the Whitecaps would be most likely to face San Diego FC, the Seattle Sounders or Minnesota United - the former would be on the road given that they finished ahead of the Whitecaps, while the latter two would be at home.
Of course, given MLS’s playoff format, which sees teams start the playoffs in a best-of-three series before shifting to a straight knockout tournament, the big matchup to watch would be a potential LAFC battle - the Whitecaps are expected to cruise past Dallas, but would be in tough against an LA side that doesn’t just has their number in big games, but is also armed with difference-makers such as Denis Bouanga and Heung Min Son, the sort of players who can win you knockout matches.
Lastly, one thing worth noting is that the Whitecaps would most likely play on the road in a potential MLS Cup final - if they were to be paired off against any of the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference (Philadelphia Union, FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami), they’d play that match away from BC Place, although they’ll have to focus on getting there, first.
The Whitecaps will win MLS Cup if…
They stick to their game model and get healthy. Ultimately, when at their best this year, not many teams have been able to stop them - for example, they dismantled the Supporters’ Shield-winning Philadelphia Union 7-0 at home in September, giving an idea of what this side looks like at its best. Plus, unlike in past years, where they were overly reliant on Ryan Gauld and Brian White to score them big goals, they’ve got a lot more difference-makers to rely on in a big game - and are much better defensively, too.
Oh yeah, and they’ve got Thomas Müller, the most decorated German footballer of all time, who tends to play his best in big games - that can’t hurt to have around this group, either.
They will be eliminated if…
The injuries continue to play a role. It’s simplistic to say, but it’s true - the Whitecaps are already fighting it a bit in that department, and are going to need some key players to quickly return to top form, which is a dangerous game to play at this time of year.
Otherwise, the Whitecaps will need to hope that any scar tissue from their devastating loss in the Concacaf Champions Cup final doesn’t linger. While they’ve done enough since that defeat to suggest that won’t be the case, they’ve only played one single-elimination knockout game since that final (coming against Vancouver FC in the Canadian Championship final) - and sometimes, the MLS Cup playoffs can be a different beast to win, after all, so it’s hard to compare that Vancouver FC matchup to what lies ahead.
