4 points that explain Vancouver Whitecaps' historic run in the Concacaf Champions Cup | OneFootball

The 2-2 against Pumas was way more than just the score indicates. Winning away on goals, against one of Mexico's monsters and in full view of Estadio Olímpico Universitario, transformed Vancouver Whitecaps from David to serious menaces. This is a club that began 2025 without much hope being placed upon it and now threatens to be in the running for something greater. Four points here on how all this came to pass, and why it should be watched if only to find out what the future holds next.

1. A team that doesn't flinch at giants

Pumas UNAM v Vancouver Whitecaps - 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup | Hector Vivas/GettyImages

Pumas is massive in Mexico. To compete at Estadio Olímpico Universitario is inhospitable, even to teams familiar with the environment. But Vancouver Whitecaps had already shown against Monterrey that context doesn't faze them. And they did so again. They broke the game wide open with a breathtaking finish by Berhalter, endured at the mercy of a late comeback by the home side, and still had a composure good enough to tie the game at 93' and seize the qualification. Not every team is capable of keeping itself together under that kind of pressure. They did. And just when the Pumas believed they had it, arrived the cold wake-up call of reality — Blackmon, by header, in the final seconds. Mental toughness was the Whitecaps' greatest advantage.

2. Jesper Sorensen doesn't do much, but he does it right

The Danish tactician came quietly and with plenty of work to do. And he's proving he knows how to read a game. During halftime, when the game required something different, he substituted Daniel Ríos — who had assisted on the first goal — with Brian White. It was White who set up the play that led to Tristan Blackmon's goal. Sorensen also made it clear that while not everything that had been anticipated happened, the roster stayed intact. "I don't think we played the game I thought we could and should have". But we hung tough." That sums up this team very well: they can't win by skill, they have to win by grit.

3. Whitecaps defense paled in victory, time, and time again

In soccer, not only do goals get etched in memory. Absolutely certain, Blackmon scored that desperate equalizing goal, but Ranko Veselinović also deflected an ominous attempt at a Martínez in-the-box shot. And then there was Tate Johnson, 19-year-old centre back at 5'7", throwing his body in front of the ball in stoppage time to rescue the team even when the goalkeeper was beaten. And then, of course, there was Takaoka, with at least four game-saving interventions, including one off Suárez's header and a low left-footed volley by Pussetto in the dying seconds. Whitecaps did not progress by getting forward at the right time. They passed because they defended with their lives at stake. With whatever they had. And with whatever they had.

Pumas UNAM v Vancouver Whitecaps - 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup | Hector Vivas/GettyImages

4. This is more than just advancing

Since 2008, MLS teams have beaten Liga MX teams away in a second leg without a first-leg advantage only three times. Whitecaps did it twice in 2025 alone. And not against anyone — against Monterrey and Pumas. Vancouver was the first MLS team to eliminate two Mexican giants in Mexico, one after the other, without winning the first game. That changes everything. It changes how much respect this team gets. It changes how they’re viewed internationally. And more than anything, it changes what’s coming. Next up: Messi’s Inter Miami. A whole new challenge. But based on what they’ve done so far, there’s no way to say they’re just here for the ride.