Vancouver Whitecaps will play for continental supremacy in the Concacaf Champions Cup final after stunning fellow Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami 3-1 in their semi-final second leg match at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Wednesday.
Midfield powerhouse Sebastian Berhalter scored one goal and assisted teammates Brian White and Pedro Vite for the other two, leading the Whitecaps to win the tie 5-1 on aggregate and script history by reaching their first-ever Concacaf Champions Cup final.
The win makes the Caps only the third-ever Canadian team to reach the final. They are also now the first team ever to win each of their first two matches against a Lionel Messi team.
“So proud of this group. We deserve this. I’m so proud,” Berhalter said in a post-match interview. “The resilience, the character, this group is so close. I’ve never been a part of a group like this. To come here, against a great team, in a tough condition, to win this game is what it’s all about,” he added.
Miami start strong to peg Whitecaps back
Vancouver, who started the match with a 2-0 aggregate lead after their triumph in the first leg last week, were dented early on when Jordi Alba put the hosts ahead in the 9th minute. The former Barcelona star was assisted by Luis Suarez with Messi being the supreme catalyst.
The move set the stage perfectly for the Herons to mount another scintillating comeback after they scored three second-half goals against another MLS team – LAFC – to overcome a similar two-goal deficit in the previous round earlier this month.
- Photo gallery: York United held to home draw by Forge FC
- Photo gallery: Cavalry FC beat Edmonton Scottish in Canadian Championship first round
It must also have been signs of deja vu for Inter Miami coach, Javier Mascherano, who along with Messi, Suarez, Alba, and Sergio Busquets was part of the iconic Barcelona squad that staged one of the most fascinating comebacks in soccer history when they beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-5 on aggregate, overcoming a four-goal deficit in the Champions League.
However, Vancouver – riding high on an eight-match unbeaten run across all competitions – kept Miami at bay in brilliant fashion throughout the match with some solid defensive displays that kept Messi goalless for the fourth straight match.
The Argentine star had an opportunity to score only once in the first half, which he shot wide.
Berhalter stars as gritty Vancouver silence Miami
The Whitecaps found their footing well in the second half when they left the home fans stunned in the 51st minute by scoring a critical away goal. Berhalter slipped into the Miami penalty box and found White, who gently guided the ball past Inter goalkeeper Oscar Ustari.
The goal helped White achieve another milestone by allowing him to officially pass fellow club legend Carl Valentine on the Vancouver Whitecaps’ all-time scoring list with 66 goals. White was earlier named the MLS player of the month for April 2025.
“I don’t know if I can put this [win]into words. It’s a special night,” said White whose goal was his 12th of the season in 16 appearances across all competitions. “We put a little stress on ourselves after conceding early but we finished the first half well and to come out and get an early goal [in the second half]obviously I think put a little bit of the tension at ease.”
Inter could barely regroup as less than three minutes later Vite doubled Vancouver’s lead.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi in Concacaf Champions Cup action in Miami Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Photo courtesy Concacaf
Ali Ahmed made a dazzling run on the left flank to leave Inter defender Maximiliano Falcon clueless with some mesmerizing footwork. The 24-year-old then passed the ball to Berhalter, who nudged the ball ever so slightly to Vite inside the box to score off a deflected shot.
Berhalter then scored Vancouver’s third goal in the 71st minute with a superb left-foot volley after capitalising on a shambolic defensive display from Inter Miami. The goal left the hosts needing a mammoth five goals in just 20 minutes to save the match.
Messi and Co. came close to scoring on a couple of occasions soon after but nothing could stop the Vancouver bandwagon from steamrolling them to cement their place in the final.
“Today was different. I think this team has built confidence, has built belief. I think they got a growing confidence out of those experiences,” said Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen.
“That’s good, because it’s difficult to manage the emotions when you have not been really in them. The more you get into those moments, the more you manage your emotions, and play the way that you actually are capable of doing instead of rushing things.”
The Whitecaps now await the result of the other semi-final second leg match between Liga MX sides Cruz Azul and Tigres UANL, who were tied 1-1 on aggregate after the first leg. The Caps will be without the services of Berhalter as the American’s yellow card in the first half means he will miss the final due to receiving multiple yellow cards in the tournament.
