{"id":327966,"date":"2025-12-05T23:00:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T23:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/327966\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T23:00:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T23:00:14","slug":"whitecaps-eager-to-make-history-in-mls-cup-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/327966\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitecaps eager to make history in MLS Cup final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Vancouver Whitecaps’ Brian White watches the ball while juggling it with his feet during a training session at Florida International University ahead of the MLS Cup final soccer match, in Miami, Fla. on Thursday.DARRYL DYCK\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long season for the Vancouver Whitecaps. <\/p>\n

Getting to the MLS Cup has taken even longer. <\/p>\n

The club will play in Major League Soccer\u2019s championship match for the first time on Saturday when they take on Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami in Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s years of hard work coming together at a special moment,\u201d said Whitecaps striker Brian White. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince I came to the club, since other guys have come in after, just seeing the progress in the team, in the group throughout the years, it\u2019s all come to this moment. So hopefully we can finish it off with a trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Whitecaps know what\u2019s at stake in the game, said goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka. <\/p>\n

MLS Cup final 2025: What to know as the Vancouver Whitecaps take on Inter Miami<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a massive opportunity for us to be here and be able to win the title,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re here to create a new history for the club.\u201d <\/p>\n

While Miami boasts one of the best soccer players in the world in Messi, Vancouver has a top-tier talent of its own. <\/p>\n

The \u2019Caps signed German legend Thomas M\u00fcller midway through August, adding a dynamic playmaker to a team that already hovered near the top of the Western Conference standings. <\/p>\n

Vancouver has lost just one game across all competitions since bringing in the 36-year-old attacking midfielder. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Vancouver Whitecaps’ midfielder Thomas Muller works out during a training session at Florida International University ahead of the MLS Cup final on Friday.DARRYL DYCK\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Neither side is focused on just one player, though, White said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s Inter Miami vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we have an opportunity to go in and win. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re focused on.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long season for the Whitecaps. The team will play its 63rd game of the year on Saturday \u2014 an MLS regular season consists of 34 matches. <\/p>\n

Vancouver pushed its way through the CONCACAF Champions Cup, beating Miami in a pair of semi-final matchups to clinch a spot in the final. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, they were much better than us in April,\u201d said Miami head coach Javier Mascherano.<\/p>\n

Muller, Whitecaps ready for Messi’s Miami squad in MLS Cup final<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBut the situation is not the same. We are in a different situation. We arrive to this final with confidence, with some different players. We know that they have a very, very good team. I don\u2019t like to talk about some players because they have too many good players. But at the end, we have our tools to do our game and try to be better than them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2019Caps ultimately fell to LIGA MX side Cruz Azul, but the club hoisted a trophy in October when Vancouver won its fourth straight Canadian Championship title. <\/p>\n

In November, the group finished second in the Western Conference standings with an 18-7-9 record, the team\u2019s best showing in the MLS era. <\/p>\n

After posting a pair of wins over FC Dallas in a best-of-three first-round matchup, the \u2019Caps came up against a familiar foe in Los Angeles FC \u2014 the team that had ousted them from the playoffs in two straight seasons. <\/p>\n

Despite going down two men late, Vancouver prevailed on penalty kicks, setting up a battle for best in the West with expansion side San Diego FC.<\/p>\n

The Whitecaps went up 2-0 in the first 11 minutes and never looked back, posting a 3-1 victory to advance to the MLS Cup final. <\/p>\n

Getting here hasn\u2019t been easy, though, noted defender Sam Adekugbe. <\/p>\n

Key players have been sidelined by injuries \u2014 including Adekugbe himself. The team has lost bodies to international duty. Playing three tournaments and a regular season left a cramped schedule full of long international flights. <\/p>\n

And yet, the Whitecaps are here. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the cusp of doing something amazing,\u201d Adekugbe said. \u201cI think throughout the year the team has obviously been through a lot of adversity, and finally getting to the final feels like it\u2019s very deserved and something we\u2019re really looking forward to.\u201d <\/p>\n

Adekugbe won\u2019t be on the field Saturday as he continues to work his way back from the season-ending Achilles injury he suffered while playing for the Canadian national team in June. <\/p>\n

He still wanted to be with the team in Florida, though. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are friends that I\u2019ve played with for the last couple of years, these are friends that I\u2019ll have forever,\u201d he said. \u201cJust being able to be a part of it, be a part of it, and just contributing off the pitch, hopefully that will translate to (the final).\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Vancouver, more than 18,500 Whitecaps fans are expected to take in the game at the team\u2019s home stadium of BC Place. That number could rival Miami\u2019s Chase Stadium, where capacity is 21,500. <\/p>\n

That simply shows how Vancouver has embraced the Whitecaps, said White. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou could see the support and the love grow in the city. You could feel it when you\u2019re walking around and going to coffee shops and stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it means a lot to us, and hopefully we can reward that love and trust with a trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Vancouver Whitecaps’ Brian White watches the ball while juggling it with his feet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,561,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-327966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}