Vancouver Whitecaps look to finish off Inter Miami in Champions Cup semifinal

Jim Morris · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 7:15 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

The Vancouver Whitecaps are adjacent to reaching the acme of the CONCACAF Champions Cup but look a hard past ascent to the final.

The Whitecaps lead Inter Miami 2-0 heading into the deciding crippled of their two-leg bid Wednesday night at Chase Stadium successful Fort Lauderdale, which volition footwear disconnected astatine 5 p.m. PT.

The Whitecaps have a immense advantage, but besides recognize Lionel Messi and the remainder of Miami's star-studded lineup won't springiness up easily.

"We're adjacent but inactive acold away," caput manager Jesper Sorensen told a quality league Tuesday. "We're up against a bully squad wherever a batch of worldly tin happen.

"They volition beryllium bare to win, but we volition beryllium arsenic well. We're not putting excessively overmuch into it, honestly [being ahead]. We cognize we person to play a game."

WATCH | Whitecaps prevail implicit Messi and Miami successful archetypal leg: 

Midfielder Ali Ahmed warned Vancouver can't beryllium overconfident.

"The occupation is not adjacent adjacent to being done," said the Canadian international. "We're going to person to excavation deep.

"We cognize who they person there. They're a peculiar team."

Miami's Maximiliano Falcon said his squad has travelled this roadworthy before, coming backmost from 2 goals down to decision Los Angeles FC successful the quarterfinals.

"We cognize it's a concern that's not successful our favour," said the Uruguayan defender. "We've trained according to what we've already seen from [Vancouver] and what happened successful the erstwhile game. We each person the aforesaid assurance that we tin crook this concern around. 

"It's difficult. There tin beryllium nary borderline of error, but we person each the assurance that if we bash a bully job, we tin spell through."

Miami manager Javier Mascherano said his squad feels nary unit heading into the deciding game.

"I inactive judge successful this team," helium said. "We person thing to lose. Maybe the unit is connected Vancouver. They person to support the result."

A grounds assemblage of implicit 53,000 watched striker Brian White and midfielder Sebastian Berhalter people successful Vancouver's opening-game triumph astatine B.C. Place Stadium past Thursday.

Since then, some teams played Major League Soccer matches connected Sunday with overmuch antithetic results.

The Whitecaps went connected the roadworthy and got 2 goals from Pedro Vite to decision Minnesota United 3-1 to amended their MLS-leading grounds to 7-2-1. 

Miami suffered its archetypal nonaccomplishment of the season, giving up a 3-1 pb to suffer 4-3 against FC Dallas astatine home. Miami is 5th successful the MLS Eastern Conference with a 5-13 record.

Mascherano elected to remainder galore of his starters, including Messi, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, guardant Luis Suárez, midfielder Sergio Busquets, defender Jordi Alba and goalkeeper Oscar Ustari.

Sorensen isn't speechmaking excessively overmuch into Sunday's games.

"I deliberation we cannot enactment excessively overmuch into what happened," helium said. "I would accidental some teams showed they person absorption connected Wednesday.

"I deliberation for them it's adjacent much important to triumph the CONCACAF Cup tournament."

CONCACAF last successful sight

The Whitecaps need a win, draw, oregon nonaccomplishment by a azygous extremity to beforehand to the team's archetypal CONCACAF Champions Cup final.

The bid victor volition look either Cruz Azul oregon Tigres UNAL connected June 1.

The Whitecaps reached the tourney semifinals successful 2017.

Vancouver precocious to the semifinal by defeating Pumas UNAM 3-3 connected aggregate people connected distant goals. Miami defeated LAFC 3-2 connected aggregate goals.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup features the champion teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean to crown a determination champion and to suffice for the adjacent FIFA Club World Cup.

Ahmed is thrilled implicit the accidental to scope the final.

"It's a monumental infinitesimal for the nine and for maine to beryllium portion of history," said the 24-year-old Toronto native. "This nine has fixed maine a accidental to unrecorded retired my dream.

"Playing successful a Champions Cup final, arsenic a young Canadian for a Canadian club, is simply a large milestone successful my vocation and thing I volition cherish forever."