Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano didn’t mince words Wednesday. He referred to the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal versus Vancouver as Miami’s most important match in club history. The subjective claim set the stage and the narrative before the all MLS clash in British Columbia. Vancouver’s 2-0 win, however, wasn’t a surprise result.
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It was the stars and big names of Inter Miami against the blue collar mentality of Vancouver. Miami has Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets. Mascherano himself is a name that still resonates loudly in the football world. The Whitecaps’ star? American center forward Brian White, as unheralded a hero as they come.
White’s goal in the 24th minute after a clever attacking sequence ignited the sellout crowd of over 50,000. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, the son of former U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter, was central to Vancouver’s success Thursday. He contributed to White’s goal and scored Vancouver’s second in the 85th minute. Berhalter’s tireless running in midfield was a key component to Vancouver’s victory. The clean sheet was important, too.
The Whitecaps entered the tie with plenty of momentum, having lost only twice in their last 15 matches this season. They were the sharper team on the night, buoyed by the home crowd and incentivized to earn another upset victory in the tournament. Vancouver has eliminated two Liga MX sides (CF Monterrey and Pumas) and Costa Rica’s Saprissa during their Champions Cup campaign.
The match against Messi and Miami was an expected date of destiny during an already impressive 2025. Vancouver, like Miami, sits atop its MLS conference after nine games. Vancouver is up for sale, and their future in Canada is uncertain. But that inevitably has not been a distraction for this hardworking, free flowing team.
While Miami struggled to find its footing on the BC Place artificial turf, Vancouver pressed high, tackled hard and frustrated the visitors during the first 45 minutes. Messi looked especially tentative on the turf. He took offense to a late challenge from Vancouver’s feisty Paraguayan central midfielder, Andres Cubas, in the first half. The Argentina national team captain then followed Cubas closely for several minutes as the two South Americans exchanged words.
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Vancouver has played attractive soccer under new manager Jesper Sørensen. They were clever at times Thursday night, especially in the build up and finish to White’s goal. Vancouver has technical players in midfield and dangerous flank players. White is in form, and collectively, they play a synchronous brand of soccer that has made BC Place a standing-room only arena.
But it became clear early on that Vancouver would not be bullied by Messi and Miami. The mind games that are typically part of every Miami game were quelled by Vancouver’s fearless play.
“The problem for me was that we weren’t there for the first ball and the second ball,” said Mascherano. “It’s difficult to win that way.”
On Wednesday, Mascherano said every detail would matter after repeatedly praising Vancouver. Mascherano wanted to have the ball and control the tempo, but even though Miami had 69 percent of the possession, the team was uncharacteristically toothless on the night. Messi finished two shots on target and just one clear chance created in the first half. Suarez was ineffective and easily handled by Vancouver’s center back tandem of Ranko Veselinovic and Tristan Blackmon.
Sebastian Berhalter’s late strike doubled Vancouver’s lead. (Anne-Marie Sorvin / Imagn Images)
“I think we have to analyze ourselves as a team and try to learn from this match and find a way to come back on Wednesday,” said a dejected Mascherano. “I don’t like to analyze too much in front of the press. Today we lost, and the first person who is responsible is me. I still believe in this team, and we are going to find a way to play a good game in Miami. We have nothing to lose. We know we have to score at least two goals and not concede. Maybe the pressure will be on Vancouver.
”Miami advanced to the semifinal with a comeback win against LAFC in the quarterfinal. LAFC took a 1-0 lead to Fort Lauderdale on April 9 and scored early in the first half. Two goals from Messi powered Miami to a dramatic 3-1 in the second leg. Mascherano cited Vancouver’s ability to overwhelm Miami in transition, particularly in wide areas, while lauding Vancouver as one of the best teams in MLS.
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“Sometimes you can prepare everything, but then you have to do it on the pitch,” said Mascherano on Thursday. “We have to think about how we can hurt them (on Wednesday).”
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” Berhalter said on the FS1 broadcast after the match. “We’ve got one more game still. We have to take care of business. We talked about this all week. We know we can do this. This isn’t a surprise to us. Now we have to go down there and get a result.”
Asked about the crowd and the fact that so many were there to see Messi, the 23-year-old Berhalter smiled and answered frankly. “It doesn’t matter who (the fans) came to see,” he said. “They’re in the building, and as long as they’re in the building, we want to put on a show.”
And that they did. Vancouver and Miami will meet again at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday. Tigres and Cruz Azul tied 1-1 in the first leg in Nuevo Leon and will meet again in leg two Thursday night in Mexico City.
(Top photo: Anne-Marie Sorvin / Imagn Images)
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