The Vancouver Whitecaps took on Inter Miami Wednesday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal. Following a sold-out match last week in Vancouver, where the Whitecaps won 2-0 on home turf, Lionel Messi and Co. were looking to return the favor.
A ninth-minute goal by Jordi Alba opened scoring for Miami, but the Whitecaps surged ahead with three second-half goals to win 3-1 and advance to their first ever Champions Cup final.
Here’s how it all went down:
Live updates from Wednesday, April 30:
6:54 p.m.: Warm up the bus! It’s all over! The Whitecaps have done it, knocking off Miami 3-1 and advancing to the final of the Champions Cup tournament for the first time in history. A couple of late chances from Messi came up empty, and it’s the visitors who leave the stadium planning for their next game. Their reaction was happy, but muted, because as they said coming into Wednesday’s game — the job isn’t done.
6:30 p.m.: And Berhalter makes three! Much of the talk about Lionel Messi is about how he’s always in the right position at the right time. How about Sebastian Berhalter, who has now scored two straight goals against Miami by finding a critical moment to fly onto a loose ball. This time, after some work by Daniel Rios and Ali Ahmed on the left wing, a Rios shot is blocked and bounces off Sabbi to a trailing Berhalter. He pounds the shot home in the 71st minute, and there can’t be any way back for Miami now. They trail 3-1 — 5-1 on aggregate — and have just 17 minutes left to score five goals. It looks like a second-straight exit from the tournament for Miami.
6:20 p.m.: Substitution! Vancouver White, nursing some hamstring tightness, comes off for Daniel Rios, as the Caps shift to a more defensive mindset. Now it’s about defense, defense, defense. And time-wasting, time-wasting, time-wasting.
6:17 p.m.: BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE (AGAIN)! Ahmed is once again instrumental as the Caps get a second goal, this time from Pedro Vite in the 53rd minute. He jinks into the box, pushing the ball back to Berhalter, who finds Vite on the right. His shot deflects off of Jordi Alba, looping over Ustari into the net just two minutes later. Miami is shell-shocked.
6:16 p.m.: BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE! Who else but Brian White with the massive away goal for Vancouver? Ahmed kicks it off with a cut-in from his wing, feeding a slashing Sebastian Berhalter in the box. He cuts it back to White, who coolly slots it into the far corner, stunning the Chase Stadium crowd in the 51st minute. Miami now has to score three more goals if they want to advance, because of the Caps’ away goal.
6:13 p.m.: And we’re back! Vancouver makes its first change of the night; Sam Adekugbe comes on for Tate Johnson to start the second half, which kicks off with Ali Ahmed testing Ustarti from just outside the top of the box.
5:56 p.m.: There’s the halftime whistle! Another foul, another whistle, and then the opening 45 is in the books. The teams have been whistled for a combined 19 fouls (10 Miami, nine Vancouver) and assessed two yellow cards each — almost as many as the entire first leg. Miami has controlled the game, but Vancouver, as they were last week, finds moments to explode in transition. An away goal would change the complexion of the game, as Miami holds onto its 1-0 lead.
First half stats: Shots 7-3 (5-2 on target) in favor of Miami, with the possession far closer than it was last week, at 53 percent for the Herons. Only two corners for Vancouver in the first 45, but just a single one for Miami.
5:53 p.m.: Berhalter into the book! Sebastian Berhalter goes into the book, and then Federico Redondo shortly after in first half injury time for some late and clumsy tackles.
5:47 p.m.: Things are getting spicy! Edier Ocampo has made some brilliant defensive plays on the wing for Vancouver in this game, but that last tackle wasn’t one of them. He takes down Luis Suarez for a free kick just outside the Vancouver box. Messi takes the kick on his off wing, forcing Takaoka into a save, pushing the ball over the bar. Shots are 6-4 (4-2 on target) with three minutes left in regulation in the first half.
5:37 p.m.: Things are getting spicy! Miami’s Jordi Alba takes exception to a tackle from Edier Ocampo, and gives him a shoulder barge in the back after the ball goes into touch. Ocampo gives him a two-handed shove in return, and the donnybrook is on as teams come together. Tempers taper off and it’s back to play with no cards. Regardless, Miami are imposing themselves on Vancouver. They’re winning the duels that Javier Mascherano lamented his team losing in the first leg.
5:30 p.m.: Finally, a card! Miami’s plan to deal with Brian White is to body him physically. He’s been manhandled several times already this game, not getting any calls despite his appeals, but Falcón hauls him down as he was about to break through on a long ball, earning the first card of the game in the 24th minute.
5:19 p.m.: Caps nearly equalize! Brian White wriggles free on a long ball after Maximiliano Falcón slips on the sodden Chase Field pitch. He feeds Emmanuel Sabbi on a two-on-one and the Ligue 1 newcomer sends his effort off the outside of the right post. Possession is again heavily weighted in Miami’s favor — 58 percent to 42 — but the Caps have settled down after a spell of nervy defending.
5:15 p.m.: First blood to Miami! Jordi Alba joins the rush on the left flank, gets fed beautifully by Luis Suarez into the box, and Alba powers it through Yohei Takaoka just eight minutes and 19 seconds into the game. Could the Japanese keeper have done more on the shot? Perhaps. But it’s hard to fault him from a shot inside 10 yards. Miami is buzzing, with Tadeo Allende coming close on another shot that forces Takaoka into a diving save.
5:05 p.m.: And we’re off! It’s kickoff from a loud and singing Chase Stadium in Florida, where pink is the color of the day.
4:56 p.m.: Oh, America! Boos rang down on the field during the Star Spangled Banner last week in Vancouver — along with Ukrainian flags being flown — but at least the anthem was played. It seems that the Yanks can’t be as accommodating. The Southsiders and other Whitecaps fans in the stands took it upon themselves to sing it themselves.
4:55 p.m.: The gang’s all here! Around 300 fans, family, staff, and media made the trip to Miami from Vancouver.
4:45 p.m.: ‘CONCACAF is a different beast’ The Whitecaps took all the dives and chicanery from Miami in the first leg and gave it back to them. They got under Miami’s skin and shut out Lionel Messi — not the easiest task.
4:30 p.m.: The lineups are out! It’s T-minus 30 minutes to kickoff at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where CONCACAF action continues with the Vancouver Whitecaps taking on Inter Miami for the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal. The Whitecaps are leading 2-0 on aggregate. A Vancouver away goal would mean the Herons would have to score four against Vancouver — something that hasn’t happened this year — and end any possibilities of penalty kicks. The winner of this semifinal will advance to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final to face either Cruz Azul or Tigres UANL on Sunday, June 1. The ultimate champion moves on to the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and qualifies for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.
The aggregate in that series is now 1-1, though Cruz Azul got a crucial away goal in the first leg. Tigres needed an 84th-minute equalizer from Juan Jose Sanchez Purata to stave off disaster. Vancouver is rolling out nearly the exact same lineup that earned a 2-0 victory last week in the first leg.
“It’s a great story,” coach Jesper Sorensen said after the first leg. “Tate has proven to be ready for every task we give him. He’s a guy who’s never let us down. … He is really a guy coming in drafted and was not supposed maybe to play a big part on this team this early.”
Emmanuel Sabbi in for Daniel Rios is the lone change for Vancouver, giving them a higher degree of pace, which Miami struggled to defend last week at B.C. Place.
