MLS Cup Final Preview: Inter Miami vs Vancouver Whitecaps

This year’s MLS Cup Final, set to be contested between Inter Miami and the Vancouver Whitecaps, is set to be an MLS Cup Final full of firsts. With both sides looking for their first MLS Cup in their first appearances in the big game, who will take home the gold?  

(Image Credit to Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

This coming Saturday afternoon, the MLS Cup is set to be awarded for the 30th time. 

This year’s edition of the league’s title game will see Inter Miami - fronted by ex-Barcelona stars Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Sergio Busquets - host the final at Chase Stadium in an effort to secure their first-ever MLS Cup. A win would also cap off a two-year project that has seen Lionel Messi and his ex-Barcelona teammates recruited by the likes of David Beckham to play in South Florida, delivering a handful of trophies and a Club World Cup appearance in the process. 

The one team that stands in the way of Miami glory? The Vancouver Whitecaps. Like Inter Miami, Vancouver qualified for their first MLS Cup final via their 3-1 win over San Diego in the Western Conference Final. In addition, the Whitecaps will also be looking to win their first MLS Cup at the first time of asking. 

To add onto that, a win would see the Whitecaps become the first Canadian MLS side to bring the MLS Cup north of the border since Toronto FC did it back in 2017. 

How they got here: Despite some lulls, Inter Miami dominated their way to the final. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s early-season dominance and the arrival of Thomas Müller helped the Whitecaps to the final.

It may not show in the standings, but Inter Miami are arguably enjoying their best season since entering the league in 2020. 

Despite two minor lulls in form, Inter Miami performed well enough to earn them the Eastern Conference’s three-seed and sixty-five regular-season points. They were also the highest-scoring team in all of MLS, scoring 81 goals over thirty-four regular-season games (that’s just shy of 2.5 goals a game). 

The playoffs were a similar story. Despite being forced to a deciding third game against Nashville in the first round, Miami was able to cruise through the playoffs with relative ease. Two big wins against Nashville at Chase Stadium were enough to see Inter Miami into the second round, which saw them dominate FC Cincinnati 4-0. The Eastern Conference Final was a similar story; despite a strong mid-game push from New York City FC, Miami dominated the first and final thirds of the game, breaking a previously-unbreakable New York City FC defence en route to a 5-1 victory.

Combined, Inter Miami have scored a whopping 98 goals over the course of the regular season and the playoffs. That’s good enough to break the previous record for the most goals scored by a team during an MLS regular season; the last record-holder was the LA Galaxy in 1998 with 95 (they scored 85 in the 1998 MLS regular season, while this year’s Miami team scored 81 in the regular season). 

For Vancouver, a 10-1-5 start to the season saw the team catapult up the Western Conference standings. They were able to hold onto first in the Western Conference until the end of Matchday 18; a 2-1 loss to Columbus saw the Whitecaps concede first to San Diego FC. Losses in five of their next nine matches would see Vancouver falter but remain in the top three of the Western Conference, before the signing of the legendary Thomas Müller took the team over the top and sent them into the MLS Cup playoffs unbeaten in eight of their last nine league matches. 

The Whitecaps would kick off their MLS Cup playoff run with a sweep of FC Dallas, the only team to beat Vancouver over the last nine games of the season, before overcoming a resilient and newfound rival in LAFC in what is certainly going to be remembered as one of the most memorable MLS Cup playoff matches. 

In the Western Conference Final, Vancouver would get off to an incredibly fast start against the expansion club San Diego FC, scoring twice in the opening fourteen minutes, before dominating a possession-heavy match to a 3-1 win. 

Recapping the previous encounters: Despite not facing each other in the regular season, Vancouver dominated Miami in the CONCACAF Champions Cup

While there were no regular-season matchups between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Inter Miami, the two sides did go head-to-head in the semifinals of this year’s edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. 

In what was a card-heavy first leg, Vancouver would find the 2-0 advantage courtesy of Brian White opening the scoring in the 24th minute and then Sebastian Berhalter icing the game with five minutes to go in the ninety. 

The second leg was also a card-heavy contest, but Miami would score first to bring themselves back into the tie. However, three second-half goals - scored by Brian White, Sebastian Berhalter, and Pedro Vite - would give the Whitecaps the 3-1 win (5-1 on aggregate) and their first-ever appearance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Final. 

Key strategies: Inter Miami will look to continue scoring off transition, while Vancouver will look for a strong start

Heading into the Western Conference Final, it was apparent that possession would be the deciding factor of the game. 

You want to know how many times I wrote the word “possession” in my game notes? Fifteen times. 

The first twenty minutes were no overstatement in this regard. Despite a few attacking spells for the Anders Dreyer-led San Diego attack, Vancouver was able to hold onto possession and score twice in the first fourteen minutes, completely taking the crowd out of the game for most of the first twenty to twenty-five minutes. 

Heading into the game, Vancouver averaged around 61% possession in the MLS Cup playoffs, while San Diego averaged just around 63% possession.

After 24 minutes, the possession battle was being won 56%-43% by Vancouver, and the Whitecaps would win that statistic 51%-49% after the full ninety minutes and stoppage time. 

So if Vancouver is to beat an Inter Miami team that is more than capable of scoring at will, the possession battle is going to have to be one that goes their way. This is especially important in considering that Inter Miami, despite not winning the possession battle against FC Cincinnati or New York City FC, has possessed the ball more often in three of their five MLS Cup playoff games thus far. 

Another way Vancouver wins? Scoring first. 

In Miami’s lone playoff loss, a 2-1 decision in Game 2 against Nashville, a ninth-minute penalty by Nashville’s Sam Surridge would serve to be the first goal of the game. In Miami’s four playoff wins, they would be the team to score first. 

While this statistic is relatively insignificant in considering this new format of the MLS Cup playoffs, Vancouver beat San Diego off the heels of a strong start. They also dominated FC Dallas off the first kick in Game 1 of their first-round series, eventually breaking through and scoring just before halftime. 

In all, if Vancouver is to win this game, they will have to keep the ball away from the likes of Lionel Messi and play their forward press. In addition, scoring first will help in forcing Miami to chase the game and give Vancouver a foothold in the game, something that could be easily taken away if Miami scores first. 

On the other hand, the two ways Inter Miami will win this MLS Cup final is through their transition play and their scoring depth. The Eastern Conference Final saw Miami succeed at turning New York’s scoring opportunities around, with one or two of them turning into Miami goals. As Vancouver is a possession-based side, Inter Miami will need to be able to break through the Whitecaps’ back line and force Vancouver to play back in order to ensure success on the attacking front in this MLS Cup Final.

In terms of the second factor, while Vancouver has several players that are capable of scoring, Miami does hold the edge in terms of overall depth. Lionel Messi and Tadeo Allende will be expected to start, with the likes of Mateo Silvetti more than capable in contributing, while Luis Suarez is certainly going to play a factor, be it off the bench or as a starter. 

Inter Miami X-Factors:

Duos, duos, duos:

The play of two star duos will decide whether Inter Miami wins this final or loses it. 

The first is the Tadeo Allende and Mateo Silvetti connection. In the Eastern Conference Final against New York City FC, Tadeo Allende scored a hat trick while Mateo Silvetti added a goal of his own. 

Besides that game, Allende scored five goals and had one assist through four MLS Cup playoff games (he had two braces over that span), while Silvetti had a goal and two assists. Outside of Lionel Messi, it’s safe to say that Tadeo Allende and Mateo Silvetti have been Inter Miami’s best players. 

That said, Whitecaps defender Tristan Blackmon is set to return following a suspension for this MLS Cup Final, adding to what is already a good Vancouver defence. And with Miami set to go up against a Goalkeeper of the Year finalist in Yohei Takaoka, Tadeo Allende and Mateo Silvetti will need to be at the top of their game once again if they are to provide Lionel Messi with additional help in the attacking department.

Another duo of importance is going to be on the defensive side of the ball, specifically that of Sergio Busquets and Rodrigo De Paul. In Miami’s tactics, Sergio Busquets is seen as the man responsible for initiating attacking pushes and starting the buildup. At the same time, Rodrigo De Paul, often regarded as Lionel Messi’s “bodyguard”, has facilitated up-field attacking and giving Messi space to operate. He’s also more than capable of acting as both a defender and an attacker, often switching between the two with relative ease while on the pitch. 

If Miami is to break Vancouver’s possession-based game and stretch their lineup, they will need Sergio Busquets and Rodrigo De Paul to essentially act in-sync, providing a strong defensive presence in the midfield while also pushing the ball up the pitch quickly to keep Vancouver from getting back in numbers.

Lionel Messi:

Of course, I’m making Lionel Messi one of Miami’s two X-Factors. 

Heading into the Eastern Conference Final, Messi had contributed (scored or assisted) in all twelve of Inter Miami’s twelve goals scored over their first four MLS Cup playoff games. 

While he only contributed on one of Miami’s five goals in the Conference Final, his lone assist was the 405th of his career and also gave him the record for most career assists of any footballer. 

Records aside, it’s clear that Lionel Messi has been the best player in the entire MLS Cup playoffs thus far. He’s also been at the forefront of Inter Miami’s two-and-a-half-year run of success, and he will continue to play a major role as they look to cap off such a run with a victory in the MLS Cup Final.

Vancouver Whitecaps X-Factors:

Sebastian Berhalter

I did just say Messi has been the best player throughout the MLS Cup playoffs to this point. 

But one can make a really good case for Sebastian Berhalter being second-best.

While he hasn’t scored in any of Vancouver’s previous four MLS Cup playoff games, he has played a significant role in the Whitecaps’ run to the MLS Cup Final. Not only did he score the first penalty in the penalty shootout against LAFC, which gave Vancouver the advantage after Son Heung-min’s miss, but he also played a big role on the defensive side of the ball while stemming a late rally by San Diego FC in the Western Conference Final. 

That said, he will need to step up in the attacking department. While he did tally six shots and two shots on target throughout his four MLS Cup playoff games (all stats according to ESPN), a goal contribution would serve as a big boost for Vancouver’s offensive depth, especially if this final turns into a shootout. 

The forward press:

This was something that played a huge role in Vancouver snatching the advantage early against San Diego. Winning the possession battle early against San Diego allowed for Vancouver to position themselves well up the pitch and consistently turn defence into attack. This was especially true in considering that San Diego was playing six up front for much of the match, which inhibited their ability to get back and defend and played a role in two of Vancouver’s three goals. 

If Vancouver is to get off to an equally strong start early and if they are to keep Inter Miami from consistently finding chances at the other end of the pitch, Vancouver will need to establish possession early in order to give their forward press time to set and to prevent Miami from building up at the back. Considering that Miami is an attacking-focused side, this could force their attackers to retreat quickly to help in defence, giving Vancouver time to attack on the counter and force some early chances. 

What formations could we see:

Vancouver Whitecaps projected lineup: 3-2-3-2

I’m going to make this prediction based o

The key cog in this formation is going to be Thomas Müller in a midfield-to-attacking-midfield role. He’ll slot into the forward three as a central midfielder, likely acting as a pivot from attack to defence in a similar fashion to the role Sergio Busquets and (potentially) Rodrigo De Paul will play in the final.

Expect Brian White and Ali Ahmed to take on striker roles while Sebastian Berhalter and Andrés Cubas will once again occupy part of the midfield. Thomas Müller should provide some support on either side of the middle three, while Ralph Priso should take on more of a traditional midfield role in support of both the pairing of Berhalter and Cubas as well as defenders like Edier Ocampo. 

Maybe this is more of a 2-1-2-3-2? I don’t know. That’s just my take.

Inter Miami projected lineup: 4-1-3-2

While running four at the back didn’t exactly work wonders for San Diego, leaving Sergio Busquets in between the defence and the midfield could allow for Inter Miami to transition easily between attack and defence and vice versa in conjunction with where Vancouver’s backline finds itself. It might also force Vancouver’s wingers inward a little to account for Sergio Busquets’ ability to start offensive pushes. 

Whoever slots in at right and left-back (left-back will very likely be Jordi Alba) should be prepared to push forward a little and support in neutralizing Vancouver’s possession-game and their forward press.  

Up front, it should be more or less the same with Tadeo Allende and Lionel Messi up in the front. The midfield should be able to spread out a little bit as Vancouver is a side that takes up the middle stretch of the field (horizontally); doing so would force the Whitecaps more to the outside and give Tadeo Allende and Lionel Messi some space to move up-front, which should give Miami’s transition attack the opportunity to push forward and test the Vancouver goalkeeper.

Prediction:

While there is a decent chance this MLS Cup Final is a high-scoring contest, I don’t think it’s going to end up the way the Eastern Conference Final went. And there is a very real chance that Vancouver is going to control the pace of this game regardless of who scores first. Keeping the ball away from the likes of Lionel Messi and Tadeo Allende will be of the utmost importance for Vancouver in the defensive department, and that will lead to Vancouver starting possessions a little further back than they did against San Diego. 

That said, Vancouver will have to score in the first thirty minutes to have a chance. This will be especially true if this game becomes a shootout; keeping within a goal of Miami at worst will ensure the Whitecaps can stay true to their laurels and maintain part of their possession-based game while also keeping Miami from pushing too far forward in attack. 

I do see this game going past the ninety minutes, and we could be in for what could be a classic of an MLS Cup Final. 

If this game goes to penalties, I do have to give the advantage to Yohei Takaoka, who has been arguably the best goalkeeper this season, and the Whitecaps. If not, then the on-paper edge slightly belongs to Miami. 

With all of the above said, and this is probably going to come back to bite me, but I think one can make a case for Vancouver to win this game. As long as Inter Miami doesn’t run away with it early, Vancouver’s possession-based game and a strong battle against the Busquets-De Paul duo should be able to allow the team to keep pace with the stars of Miami and win the game after the first ninety minutes. 

The pick: Inter Miami 2, Vancouver Whitecaps 2 (Vancouver wins 5-4 on penalties)

Article written by Noah Guttman © Noah Guttman 2025