What's up bro? Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the third sub podcast episode 241 of the show and it is a big week here in Vancouver. The Vancouver Whitecaps filling a little bit of semifinal. CONCACAF Champions Cup fever. Inter-Miami in town. for the first of two legs across the semi-final one of the biggest
in Whitecaps history, at least in terms of the modern era of the team. This might be the biggest, and we're certainly looking forward to it. Meanwhile, though, an MLS play still top of the league, grinding out road wins, dominating teams at home. Certainly a sight to see for a shorthanded Vancouver Whitecaps, not even at their full form. But yes, it's been an absolute time here in the lower mainland over the last few weeks. Sam and I have been out of BC Place. We went to the Vancouver Rise.
Last week, shout out to that. Just the NSL getting off the ground, being able to see the rise for the first time. Vancouver FC, Pacific FC have gotten started. That's kept me certainly busy over the last... few weekends with cpl going underway but uh right now the white caps there it's been the the big story and sam uh this this week it feels like
The culmination of the big start with the culmination of the hype of this messy Miami situation are going to come together and it's going to make for quite the scenario. Yeah, exactly. Just looking forward to what the week has ahead. buried in all of this like a true MLS sicko that I am is a huge match on the weekend as well. Minnesota's been up near the top of the table.
And obviously the Whitecaps have been having a lot of success in MLS in addition to CONCACAF, but obviously most of the focus, most of the attention is on later this week, Thursday night at BC Play. you know, Messi and the boys coming to town.
Do the supporters, does BZ plays, do the Whitecaps get kind of a chance at redemption here after being spurned at the end of May last year? I think that's something that certainly is kind of the... the greater talking point beyond the match itself right because it's uh anytime messy comes to town it is this
landmark event that's greater than the sport itself. And so obviously that's something that's garnered a lot of attention and focus locally here, especially with the Canucks crashing out, not being in the playoff. There's a little void in the market at the moment. It's a good opportunity for the Whitecaps not only to...
battle for continental silverware, but just to have a great exposition on Thursday night of what this team's been doing this season, what this team is certainly capable of. I mean, at the end of the day... Sure, it's Messi, it's Suarez, it's Busquets, it's Alba, but it's an MLS team at the end of the day. So it's not like this... It's not like this is an insurmountable challenge.
The Whitecaps are top of the supporter shield standings to start the year. Certainly, Miami is sitting there right behind them, but the gap is not very big. I think it's going to be massively interesting. We saw most recently, you know, so we're recording Tuesday afternoon leading up to the match. We saw a stingy kind of...
dicey nil-nil on the road in St. Louis. I kind of described it as a prototypical MLS road match where, you know, especially one where St. Louis was feeling a lot of pressure going in, having lost four in a row. A lot of Melbourne already kind of under a little bit of pressure. The fans were, there was a lot of juice, but like a lot of like nervous energy in that stadium. And so I, you know, St. Louis was desperate not to lose that one. The Whitecaps, maybe not at their sharpest, but.
It was interesting that, you know, Jesper Sorensen continues to roll out. first choice starting 11s. There's no slowdown in the meat grinder that is the schedule, but the Whitecaps still kind of relying on their top players heavily, and I imagine they're going to continue to do so Thursday night.
So first and foremost, I mean, looking forward to this one, we'll chat a little bit. We'll probably naturally, as we kind of preview the Miami match, touch on some of the things from Austin, from St. Louis, things we've seen recently, like the form of Brian White. and then just kind of tee you up for this match and also what's upcoming on the weekend for Vancouver because, yeah, exciting times, Alex, and just looking forward to chatting.
yeah absolutely i think it's just yeah like you mentioned when it comes down to it it's you know mano a mano the the top two teams in mls right now in terms of points per game in terms of a lot of the advanced metrics both very similar, both very different in their approaches. that's just so you know it's it's going to be fascinating from like you know the nerd side of it of like how these two teams line up how these two teams match up but even just from
you know, the storylines, the narratives of, you know, the top teams, the top players that Miami obviously can bring to the fold. And yeah, my most curious too is just like, what's the energy? because i think the the prevailing sentiment you know i try to my best to lurk on whitecaps twitter and blue sky and reddit and you kind of you know get the the mood like people are excited because it's a continental And I think that's the way this game should be approached.
I think that's the way that had they been playing any other team in the world, I think that's the way it would have been approached. I'm curious to know how the tickets would have sold if it wasn't a Miami, but it was still a semifinal.
okay maybe a sellout might have been unrealistic but 30 40k would that not have been out of the question here's here's an intro i i really like that you bring this up it's a really interesting question I think like if it was Club America or it was, you know, one of the big Mexican teams, I feel like, yeah, you maybe are able to draw, but I do wonder if it's like...
And even LAFC would have had some juice, right? Because there's a bit of a, it's all being a one-sided rivalry, but there is a bit of a rivalry.
There's the whole Mark DeSantos thing. There's some built-up playoff CONCACAF history. But I do wonder if it was a... throw out like a nycfc or something if they'd somehow made a run and they were facing the white caps in a in a continental semi-final i do wonder if that would have been like a particularly big draw or of that much interest but thankfully All the teams that were kind of left in this competition for the Whitecaps to play all would have been like pretty tantalizing opponents.
So in that scenario, I imagine the turnout would have been pretty good. And especially there's the extra week to sell it to because I think that was part of the problem with the Monterey Pumas stuff is it turned around pretty quick and I don't think... Word really reached people in Vancouver quite the way you would have hoped. Yeah, that's why I just ask because it's like.
On one hand, like, again, Continental Semifinal, it is a big deal, like, even just without the opponent. But at the same time, the last time the Whitecaps reached this stage... granted very different tournament very different time i remember they $15,000, $17,000 it was for Tigress. That was like peak Tigress too. Like a very good Tigress. Gignac, Vargas. All just in their absolute prime. Yeah.
so that's why i wonder because it's always the midweek's always tough even like the white caps have had can champ finals three years in a row and those haven't always sold as much as you'd expect for literal silverware on the line but then that on the flip side
What this run has that even that 2017 Champions Cup run didn't have, what any of those Canadian championship runs didn't have, is that there's been a bit of a story building of, oh, the Whitecaps have had to go on and beat a Monterrey, beat a Puma. In the 2017 format, the tournament was very weird.
Got through the group stage. You know, you took on a team from Trinidad and Tobago, and then you take on Kansas City in the group stage. You get out pretty comfortably. You beat the Red Bulls the round before, and it was like February. No one even knew the game was going on. All of a sudden, it's like Tigress in March.
right okay even a lot of the canadian championships Of course, we'd love this tournament to grow and be bigger, but the reality is the Whitecaps won some of the early round games in front of 5,000, 6,000 fans at BC Play. you know, they went on the road and maybe people didn't know that they'd beaten, you know, some of the teams they'd beaten on the road. That's why I do wonder, like, has this story grown enough?
that even had miami not been involved teams be like oh okay like this white caps like they beat a couple mexican teams they're in a semi-final they're three games away from qualifying for a club world cup you know winning a major trophy getting a huge financial windfall that comes with that all these sorts of perks but then i guess we don't we'll never know because yeah the messy factor and i just i throw that out there because i do wonder
what the atmosphere is going to be like. Because I think back to like, I throw out Toronto FC when they went on this run and Montreal when they went on this run because they've both made a final. Cup. When Montreal made it, wow. Incredible. They were selling out the big O. It was a huge deal. Everyone was there to cheer Montreal. It was incredible to watch.
TFC similar, right? Like BMO, they filled it up. Even they're playing Mexican teams is a great deal. And so I wonder like, is it going to be a. like 50 000 pro like look look we can't we'll admit there's going to be a couple thousand people there just to see messy there's no shame in admitting that it is going to be a bit bit of a weird scene nonetheless
But I think it's worth saying that really you experience some of that for Pumas and Monterey. I mean, these are basically if there's people from Mexico or people with Mexican roots, Mexican connections, Mexican heritage. Those supporter bases showed out in both matches at BC Place. So I think there's an element of... of that that you're going to get in CONCACAF. And I actually like...
Some of that kind of neutral site or two fan bases energy can be good. I think the concern last year in May prior to Messi not showing up and then the crowd very much kind of turning on the way. side but i think the concern was that it was gonna have like LA NFL teams kind of energy where all the opposing fans kind of invade.
stadium and it it's this weird like away match at home type of experience i i don't think there's coyotes type beat yeah when you know it's it's like march break and everyone from from toronto and vancouver descends right like there's always that concern and i think that was a big problem potentially last may Yes, there'll be some people there supporting Miami. There'll be some people there just to see Messi. But I think you're going to get a lot of...
I mean this in the kindest way possible, kind of bandwagon Whitecaps supporters for the day, right? That are just out to have a good time and, oh, it's cool, I get to see Messi, but I hope the home team wins.
I kind of get the sense that'll be the prevailing feeling in the stadium. And sure, you know, whenever Messi gets in the ball or does something, there's going to be some roars, there's going to be some noise, as there should be. But I imagine it's going to be a great environment. I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah, well, I just throw the question out because I agree. I've been in some of those neutral environments where, especially with Mexican teams, it is split. I just say this is unique because... in those cases had this been a tigress or something you know that people on the other side are there to see the team what's unique here is that there's people who are like you know admitting and again no shame in it because it's like seeing an artist at work like I would want to go see Messi.
and there are those people who are there just to see messy right like it's like That's the unique phenomenon. It's not an I care about Miami. It's I care about Messi. And that's what I'm curious. And it's like, could that person name anyone either than Alba Busquets? suarez and messi on inter miami like there'll be some people who genuinely do not know another player on beyond that list. They're not big Falcon or Ustarry fans, I guess.
i mean understandable but uh no that's that's why i'm unique or i'm wondering like is it going to be a sentiment of They're going to be pro-whitecaps. They just also might cheer on a Messi goal. That's, again, little factors that are going to be interesting to see. But no, I think I agree. It's going to be a good crowd, I think. What I do wonder is also how hostile the crowd gets, because, OK, there'll certainly be some kids and the people that are happy to see Messi. How many people boo Messi?
how many people are there like you know what screw you for what happened last year screw everything that happened vancouver's not going to stand for this And they're going to absolutely boo him. Like, is there going to be a bit of hostility? I do wonder about that because I know Miami got booed heavy last year without him. Is that same energy going to come in?
all fun things to watch but of course sam is as fun as that story is off the field i know a lot of people i'm sure will be following it very closely i'm sure uh again like the the six o'clock news the next day is going to be uh fun for for that This is also going to be a fascinating matchup because this Miami team, again, talented, messy, et cetera. They got some pretty good supporting talents, you know, the likes of Allende and Redondo.
falcon all these these south american guys they've signed they got some homegrowns mixed in mixed in quite nicely They love to dominate the ball. They love to score goals. This is also probably the best test of Jesper Sorensen's system, no? Considering Greg Berhalter and Chicago are probably the team that did the best work of the Whitecaps.
feels like this miami is the closest version of that team and of course much better than that team purely based on the talent they're going to be putting out on Yeah, I mean, in terms of possession, controlling play, those kinds of things, certainly we've seen a bit of a change this season for Inter-Miami where it's a little less like... Messi and Suarez have to do it all, and they're just a complete defensive liability otherwise. You've seen a little more bottom line.
The depth of the roster, as you mentioned, is, you know, even if those aren't household names, it's a. There's some impressive guys lower on the depth chart. Miami has been able to use their influence on the league office to expose as many loopholes in the roster building as possible, which is always fun. Just like we've seen the LA teams and New York teams do at times. But I think something that's interesting to me, Alex, is just the...
You know, there is, as you said, when it comes to standings, when it comes to sort of overall success so far this season, these two teams are right at the top. And, you know, when Miami, you can't take anything away from them. They're still undefeated on the season, right?
you know, three draws in that mix. But I think they have a better points per game too than the Whitecaps just barely. Right, exactly. But I think something that's really interesting is that you look at like the expected goals for and against and... This is a Miami team that on that metric alone doesn't really stand out. I mean, they got 13.2 expected goals for, 10.9 expected goals against for a difference of 2.2.
You look at the Whitecaps, the Whitecaps have created 17.3 expected goals, only allowed 7.9 for a difference of 9.5. So when you're talking about a team that's leading the league, that's at the top of the table, I think you expect more of the kind of underlying numbers you see from the Whitecaps than what you've seen from Miami. But I was saying to you before the show, I think that's just a credit to...
what those veterans in Messi and Suarez have been able to do to just break matches open that are relative deadlocks or relative 50-50. So that's kind of been my theme so far this year. I mean, no better example really in a way than the match against Columbus Crew this past weekend where, you know, they were out XG'd. Miami was 0.9 to 2.9, but they come away with a 1-0.
So it's, you know, I think that's something to watch is that for, as you mentioned, the stylistic similarities. So who's going to take charge of the ball? Who's going to control proceeding? Obviously, there's going to be a home and away dynamic there that will matter over the two legs as well. But then also just, yeah, is... Is Vancouver able to play that dominant style football they like? And can they limit moments of brilliance?
moments that can kind of smash the match open, especially when you consider that for Miami, it's like if they're able to come in and get an away goal, that can be huge. Vancouver's kind of struggled. They've put in good performances, but ultimately struggled to limit that away goal. And then they've created a bit of a hole for themselves to dig out of in Lake 2.
I have to feel like that's priority number one for Jesper Sorensen. He mentioned it earlier today. You know, not putting too much importance on the first match because it's two legs, but at the same time, obviously, if you're able to keep my... yeah 100 i think that's been clear just studying this miami team is that look they've got a dangerous attack the thing is there again even their xg4 numbers
last year they weren't like you know but the thing is like xg goes out the window and you have messy because this is a guy who's shots from 30 yards or is just as dangerous as the average player's shots from 15 right so what is 0.05 XG for Messi is, you know, usually that sort of stats done with the average human in mind, not the someone with his left foot. So on the X, like the attack side, it's hard to really compare. how, how their system works. Right.
doing research, one thing I found fascinating is that Messi's touches are significantly down. since like his time in europe but you know despite that his his xgs is incredible expect to exist because he still generates those numbers at a high rate just of course is uh has different finishing capacities than other people um so yeah it makes it so tough to to defend them because yeah if you
It's the age-old question of, do you mark Messi or do you mark his teammates? Either way, there's no good option. You mark his teammates while Messi's going to destroy. If you try to mark Messi, he's got this eye for picking out these passes that maybe...
He shouldn't. But I agree. The defensive side... like i would say there's some genuine weaknesses some frailties there interestingly to start the year they were actually really really elite defensively i think i on y scout in their first eight games they had over 1.5 xg once against like every other game like every game they were suffocating opponents keeping them below 1xg interested in their last like six six or seven they've completely fallen off a cliff
Um, ever since Philadelphia, it was the LAFC in particular was the big one across both legs. I think LAFC had four XG. So the fact that Miami escaped that tie with a three, two win was. quite remarkable because usually a team with Buonga all those guys Buonga missed some big chances across those two His second leg was a howler, really. No other way to put it. He should have put that tie away multiple times.
And even recently, like you mentioned, Columbus, Chicago, like their XG numbers are slipping every week on Wisecout. Their pressing numbers are lower than they were last year. It's not good defensively, but reality, I think the one thing is with Miami.
there's no other way to analyze it but there's a certain like air around them a certain aura whereas when teams are playing them you almost like you almost like you know the the whole grip the stick tighter thing right like you can see with buonga there's almost this pressure of man I got to be taking my chances because Messi's going to kill me at the other end. And when you're constantly thinking that as a striker, anytime as a striker, you're not thinking I am going to score this chance.
You're kind of, you know, you're kind of putting yourself at a disadvantage. And I think there's this. When teams play this Miami side, they get so caught up and so scared of being like, oh, my goodness, I have to be perfect or else Messi is going to kill me or else the other team is going to destroy us. That it just makes them. fall short in key moments because they put so much pressure on being perfect. And I think for the Whitecaps, that's going to be something to watch because ultimately.
As we've seen, the Whitecaps have also left some chances on the tables and a couple of these leg ones too. That's something you can't really afford to do. But at the same time, you can't be going out there thinking you need to leave with the 2-0 because that seems to be the weakness right now.
with miami because like otherwise like there's a lot of reason to indicate that miami like this is a perfect chance to bet on the white caps building an upset but it's going to be up to how the white caps execute and a lot of teams haven't done a great job of that again Yeah, I think one thing I would say is that hearing from Jesper Sorensen earlier today, I feel relatively confident that, and this is something that goes all the way back to like our conversation about the coaching.
Sorensen is just the kind of guy with the right demeanor for this kind of thing, where he was very matter-of-fact. He was like, listen, yes, it's an MLS team. It's an MLS team with a very good player, but we've seen... you know, TFC took this Miami team to the brink, right? Like, and really gave them a battle. So, you know, and we've seen how TFC has looked over all this season. So this is not some impossible.
And I think Sorensen kind of made that clear. And also, I think he made it clear that, as you just said, Of course, you want to go out and perform in leg one. You want to get the best result you can. But I don't get the feeling that he's putting out this, we have to go out and win 2-0. We have to get a massive result. They haven't been able to do that in the past two rounds. At the end of the day, it hasn't mattered. They found a way to get it done. So I think that there's...
There's an eagerness to perform, but I don't know if there's like a... a pressure to get a result in that way that is potentially leads to, you know, snatching at the ball, gripping the stick too tight, so to speak. I don't get that feeling. um out of the coaching staff out of this whitecaps group i mean we've seen um we seem very very confident
kind of demeanor from, from white caps players after the two home legs in the previous rounds where they kind of went, yep, we're going to go to Mexico. We're going to get. So I think this team is in a good position mentality-wise to try to go do that. Now, obviously, you know, executing that, especially against a team of this stature, is a different challenge. But I think, yeah, it's something where...
Certainly Vancouver's as well positioned in terms of the mentality of the team and the mentality of the coach to do that as anyone in MLS. Yeah, and I think one thing that stands out with this Miami tie, Miami's got very clear strengths. And in fact, their strengths, they might be better at them than anyone else because it helps when you have.
Again, the best player in any given game you're going to play is going to be Messi. That's always a huge advantage no matter what you're doing. But they also have very clear weaknesses. Those defensive weaknesses are quite telling.
like they build up in a or they they play with a 4-4-2 and their two fullbacks fly forward and often their their four midfielders get a little too overexcited and they leave these just massive gaps and caverns for team to run into in the back their goalkeeper is not that good in the air um like there's massive frailties and i what i think will be interesting is that the thing that stood out with jesper sorens we've spoken about this
he's he sees those weaknesses and he like he like that's what he sees he sees the weaknesses like when it was monterey or pumas and you're kind of like well You know, Jesper, what are your thoughts on Garesquia? What are your thoughts on Pumas' this, Pumas' that, Monterey's wingers, Monterey's possession?
And you'd be like, ah, look, we'll take care of all those things. What I do like is that, I don't know, this team, their left back isn't that good. They play a bit of a high line. They're very weak in counterattacks. They lose the ball easily. he just sees those errors and targets them and i think that's gonna because I think that's where the Whitecaps can really hurt Miami. And the flip side, defensively, I think...
The Whitecaps could be poised to defend a little better. And I say that because they hold the ball so well. that that's another way that you can try to frustrate Miami the ultimate reality is like Sorensen has said sometimes the best way to defend Messi is look anytime Messi gets the ball there's no good way to defend him so if he's not getting the ball That's probably the best way to defend them. And if you're holding the ball all game, he's not getting the ball.
you know that that adds up so i think that those two factors are are going to be very uh interesting to see for the whitecaps if they can manifest that because they've done such a good job of exposing weaknesses austin two weeks ago we spent time in the preview talk about man austin they've been good defensively they've been shutting it down like for the white caps if they can grind out a one nil
Like they should win, but that would be a good result. And then they go and absolutely blow the doors off Austin because clearly they saw some weaknesses in how Austin were defending. Maybe they were defending a little too low, leaving some gaps.
And they absolutely expose that. I think things like that have to increase your optimism. If you're the Whitecaps, they're going to see the Miami weaknesses. Because that's the one thing that stands out to. This isn't me just being like, oh, they have weaknesses, trying to humanize them. No, genuinely watching them.
Like, there are glaring weaknesses, and it's almost infuriating that teams can't expose them. This was true last year, too, right? Like, where there was some pretty obvious... chinks in the armor but it just most of the time no one could could do the job brad guzan and the vibes of that atlanta team
Somehow they were the ones to find them. Yeah, and sometimes it's just like that, right? I mean, one thing for me, Alex, that I look at, you talk about the fullbacks getting forward, the midfielders maybe getting a little excited and wanting to join the attack. I mean, something I just look at is, and I feel like shout out to Caleb Wilkins here for sort of, you know, the aging curves and then throwing the age card into it. But you look at.
The two players, at least in MLS, that have played the most minutes, it's Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez, you know, 36 and 38. And it's like, man, on travel midweek, BC place turf. How are those guys going to hold up? How are the bodies going to be feeling? And if Vancouver can hold the ball.
Make those players run more than they want to. Then, you know, Miami's looking for an attacking opportunity. They send bodies forward. All of a sudden, you have some tired legs left in transition against the Whitecaps players. I think there's real opportunities there.
You know, Vancouver's going to have the chance to, you know, for Brian White. Brian White's going to have a good opportunity with the ball at his feet to score a goal. Like, there's going to be those moments available for Vancouver. It's just, you know, maintaining that structure defensively and, you know, trying to win that possession battle as much as they can. And then ultimately, I think just, you know.
straying away from any kind of sketchy moments because we have seen a little bit I would say as a theme defensively if you look at St. Louis the Chicago loss When the Whitecaps don't have the ball quite as much as normal, they're asked to defend a little bit more often. We have seen that defensive errors can happen, despite the fact this team's been very good defensive.
So I think that's something to watch out for. I mean, in terms of personnel itself, it'd be very, very interesting if Sam Adekubi is back in the fold because... I have the feeling that Sam may have actually been good to go against St. Louis, but they were probably always having an eye on this match for Sam because he's been training for a while now.
Um, and we kind of seen with Tate Johnson, Eddie Ocampo again, they've been fantastic, but I think defensively, um, communication wise, there have been a couple moments recently that have left a little bit want. Or just, you know, asking a lot of Ranko Veselinovich and Tristan Blackman. So I think that's a really interesting dynamic. And boy, does Sam help out with a team building in possession as well.
So I think that's something that's key. In addition to Jayden Nelson is available for selection as well. Jesper Sorensen confirmed that earlier today. Obviously, it's a question of how much they actually play, but they are going to be in the squad. Yeah, I think that was a good shout. Just having Adekugbe defensively will be a huge plus.
Especially, you know, no Laborda. I think he's going to be sorely missed in this one. Probably the game they'll miss him the most, so to speak, after his absence. so yeah having just an attic could be back would be massive what's nice is you have kubass he's also someone that's familiar with messi uh because like the roster this roster has a decent amount of experience
You know, in the sense that I know Ahmed's played against Messi when he was with Canada against Argentina. Kubas has certainly gotten his fair share of battles in with Messi. That just helps because, you know, sometimes... When he's built up in such a way that you play him for the first time, you're almost in on. I think it'll help for a guy like Kubas that Kubas hasn't just played against him, but he's kicked him a few times and won games against him. So he'll have a bit of...
confidence in that regard yeah the big thing I'm watching for the Whitecaps though I think is the wingers I think this is going to be a game where we've seen at times lately it's been like the Vitae playing as a 10 Ahmed on the left Ocampo flying forward from the right I would expect a true 4-3-3 with two wingers on the field. that's a must almost just with how those miami fullbacks are like dare them like okay you're gonna send alba
flying forward, then you're going to have Emmanuel Sabi there on the wing and either you're going to have to think about him or you're going to leave him alone and he's going to absolutely torch you. And I think Ditto's going to go on the left, right? And Ali Ahmed will start right away. And I think from there, if you have the trump card of, oh, yeah, you can pull Jade Nelson on if Sabi or Ahmed get tired.
got to be an area where the white cap's tugging i think vitae is going to be needed in the middle because i think you're going to have to have kubas in there die i think berhalter is going to have to play a huge role with how good that miami midfield is his versatility i think vitae is going to need to be dropped in so they can hold the ball
bring a little control, that's going to put pressure on having those wide players. And I think Sabi and Ahmed will make a lot of sense because they could really feast in this game, I think. especially if, you know, out of Cougby slots in, or if it's Johnson, I think they're going to have their hands full defensively on that side, especially because Messi always drifts out to that right side. So another reason maybe to have out of Cougby just for that experience there.
And then, of course, Ocampo, you know, he'll he'll probably slot in. But. You know, if he's going to be less freelancing, say, than usual. And heck, I do wonder if maybe we see a bit of a tactical wrinkle, right? Because this could be the game where maybe you see like a Hal Booney slot in and that shifts out of Blackman to that side. to kind of replicate the laborda role that again they haven't missed so far but this might be the game where where they look and think man we wish you had matias
Yeah, and I mean, full credit to going back a little bit, the tactical wrinkle that Jesper Sorensen threw out against Austin, right? It was real. And White up front, Sobby in the mix, just kind of overloading the box, really putting pressure on Austin.
And it was funny in the post-match from that one, obviously after the 5-1 result, Sorensen always had a bit of a chuckle and he was kind of like, yeah, you can't be predictable all the time. You have to throw something at them they might not expect.
You know, it looked kind of weird, like especially in the opening 15, 20 minutes of that match. You're kind of like, oh, I'm not really sure. I love the look of this attack. Right. Like it didn't look great. But then all of a sudden, because Austin was sitting so deep. The Whitecaps could just keep hitting crosses into the box and they'd have three or four bodies all crashing the area. And Austin, you know, it's not the way Vancouver's really attacked.
And I think because of that, Austin had absolutely no response. And you saw over the course of the end of the first half into the early second half, they were just completely clueless. you know, it got to minute 60 and it felt like, you know, stop. He's already dead pretty much. So completely off. Right. So, you know,
Jesper Sorensen has shown the ability to throw that tactical curveball. So I think it's just interesting. I don't know if it'll be something like that Hal Booney. Will it be a wrinkle in terms of how they attack?
And I think it's interesting that you bring up Sabi and Ahmed because that was one takeaway I had from the St. Louis match was... against a in st louis very well drilled disciplined defensive team so i think st louis deserves a lot of credit there they got off to a very good start this season they just haven't really been able to score goals recently and that Olaf Melberg's system, I think, has prioritized defense above all else, maybe at the cost of any sort of attacking juice.
But the Whitecaps struggled to break that down a little bit. And, you know, Ahmed and Sabi did get on the ball in 1v1 situations, but weren't necessarily able to break down that low block. Now, obviously against Miami. you're not going to have the same kind of defensive system. Those guys are going to have more space. And I do feel like that lends to a lot of opportunities when you offer Sabi and Amid. green grass to run into, I think that can be very dangerous.
Yeah, just providing Brian White that service, getting those guys, you know, kind of darting down those flanks. cutting balls back into the box. That's definitely, I think, going to be a potential path to success for Vancouver. And then just one other thing I wanted to pick up on too. I think you're right in the sense that like Seb Berhalter could be absolutely crucial because I want to see Seb and he's been great at this.
getting stuck in getting under the skin of opponents you know mucking it up in that midfield battle like not making life easy or comfortable Because that's something that's been very different about this Vancouver run in CONCACAF is they've...
They've really gone toe-to-toe not only in terms of performance and football, but they've gone toe-to-toe in... the conca-calf nature of the contest right like they've they've mixed it up and mucked it up just as much as anyone and i think that's that's a tool in the toolbox you have to use and uh You know, the more you can kind of bog Miami down in some of this stuff, I think, you know, I think that can turn into advantage for Vancouver as well.
Yeah, no, I love that shout. Just quickly on the wingers to another point, like St. Louis, again. Like they have Kyle Hebert playing fullback, like a center back playing fullback. Pretty different vibe. Very different vibe when then you look at Jordy Alba. Who again?
I didn't realize he had 20 goal contributions as a fullback last year. You'll notice that when I talked about the old guys whose legs are tired, I didn't include Jordi Alba because that man is an absolute machine, even at an advanced age. Yeah, 36. He's not moving like 36 the way he played last year or this year. Then they got Marcelo Wegant on the other one. He had the assist on Benjamin Kromasky's goal this weekend. So he can get forward. I saw it in the LAFC tie.
so that's why again where look the whitecaps are gonna have to deal with the lot out wide and i do wonder again I wonder if Miami goes with Fafa Pico in this game. Yeah, it's a good shout. And, you know, it gives something a bit different. All of a sudden, if you're the Whitecaps and you're dealing with Pico likely on the left,
And then Messi kind of drifting on the right and Wegant overlapping. It's going to be, again, heck of a shit. Pretty tasty for sure. Heck of a shift for, yeah, whoever the left back, right back is. And likely the wingers will have to help in that case. It's not going to be a one. one-person job but man on the flip side if you're Ahmed and Sabi you're licking your chops thinking if the those guys get a little over eager You know, you open up some space in transition.
So that's going to kind of be the nature of that battle, the yin and yang. And that extends to what you're saying about the concafree. This Miami team is no joke when you got. a team full of south americans uh they they definitely like like to mix it up we saw it against lafc there was a good low like a good little brawl like there was guys getting thrown around i saw wwe body slam so i just got so excited he almost bit albux he just
you know, head loss. So clearly there's a bit of CONCACAF in this Miami team, but I think for the Whitecaps, they'll be... They've shown, like you mentioned there, they're willing to match it. And I think that could lead to some fun things, especially a guy like Ali Ahmed, the way he's been winning fouls in every round. just frustrating defenders. Berhalter getting in the mix. Pedro Vite wins so many fouls too. He's become really good at doing that.
So yeah, just something to watch out for. I think, you know, the Whitecaps, they don't, they don't just have to, obviously they're going to go head to head in the midfield and try to. win that possession battle but I think there's also the Some extracurriculars that can help provide an edge as well. I mean, you know, Kubas doesn't necessarily like get involved in the handbags type stuff, but he's going to make your life incredibly difficult. He's going to be physical.
He's going to be tough to play against. So I think, you know, that's a formidable midfield three, not just in terms of what they can do on the ball, but also kind of the grit that they can provide when not.
And I think Kubas is getting a yellow. The question is, is it going to be first half or second half? Has he managed to get enough Lixen in the first half that he gets a free square in the second half? Or is he going to get an early one and have to... slightly tone it down even though again one day with kubas like how many yellows has he gotten and he never gets any red cards i always find that such an underrated skill of guys
play as hard as he does certainly he's gonna have his his handfuls this week but so he'll probably won't be mad that the last few games haven't been the busiest for him as it's given him a chance to to save the, save the legs. And yeah, even like St. Louis. What I liked about that St. Louis game is that, look, the Whitecaps.
you know one of their worst games it feels like just in terms of rhythm and the way they they were able to play and yet they still significantly out possessed the team on the road in the end they confidently won the xg battle they doubled the other team and shot
like if this again if this is the white caps floor it just it's it's a good reminder of okay like again that's maybe a game that the white caps last year you go out and lose or you know you And for a team right now that's juggling CONCACAF a road point, especially with how good they've been at home. you take it and they've also won a few a few games on the road to to overcome that and now it's going to be fascinating to see how they balance this week because
They were able to go a little more full tilt in St. Louis because it was a Saturday and this CONCIF game wasn't all the way till Thursday. And I imagine they'll be playing Sunday in Minnesota. They have to be because, of course, you can't play Saturday. But still, that's never an easy trip. And then you're all of a sudden you're thinking about going to Miami on Wednesday.
I'll be interested to see how they approach that Minnesota game. But definitely it feels like their legs are fresh and pumping for Thursday. I think no more so than Kubas. I feel like he's going to be charged up for a good... Yeah. I mean, and then obviously, you know, kind of go through the roster. I think just it's worth stating again, you know, Brian White as much as, okay, so Vancouver doesn't have Ryan Gould at the moment. They don't have that sort of.
I don't want to say Messi equivalent, but certainly someone who can break the match wide open. But Brian White's been able to do that at times just with his finishing ability this year. I mean, you saw the four goals against Austin.
um just kind of when he's feeling it when he's on form can be an absolute difference maker so um you know a lot of that is kind of down to what happens on the rest of the pitch and are the white caps able to get white the ball in those positions but then ultimately as well you know Something that Brian White can be hot and cold. So it's like, is this a hot day? Is he able to be clinical with those chances he gets? That's a guy that can change the force of the tie.
It's April and he has 10 goals already in all competitions. So I think for White, he's almost, again, we shouted him out a few weeks ago. He's found a bit of consistency that maybe he's alluded to him in past years. But yes, it's something where... As you mentioned, I mean, all strikers are. It's hot and cold. He definitely feels like one that will need to be on, especially if the wingers are flying forward and getting him that service. Because if Denny Buongo was hot...
In the previous round, the Whitecaps aren't facing Inter-Miami. They're facing LAFC without a doubt. That's it, because Bwonga had chances to put LA up 2-3-0 in the second leg before Miami came back. And then he had a chance to win the tie on away goals. Breakaway just completely fluffed his line. So, again, yeah, White. I mean, that goes without saying if you can take your chances and yeah, it's, it's unique for this leg one, especially with the away goals in play because.
It's so hard to know how to balance it because you can't sit back against Miami. You just can't. And that's not what the Whitecaps are going to do. But man, just it's going to be interesting to see how they. they also want to get again you want to get a one nil or something like that but
Can they avoid the mistakes that have eluded them in the earlier rounds, like Pumas getting cheap corner, Monday getting a cheap breakaway? Because Miami just... you know they have have those threats but uh no i think i definitely feel like sorensen's gonna have a few tricks up his sleeve he's gonna go out swinging and uh hopefully the whitecaps can connect with some punches and get a big result because i think
The reality is, even though ironically, Miami might be the easiest away day they're going to have of the three they've had because San Jose away is just no joke in terms of weather.
The one they played against Monterey in a desert was just like... pretty brutal and of course mexico city with the altitude like i think miami is even though it's no fun with the humidity and stuff might be the easiest especially because the crowd's probably gonna you know it's not a huge crowd there 22 000 seat stadium but man just you know
uh that miami are going to turn it up and really put the pressure on on the field in that game so i think for the whitecaps uh you know you didn't have that same worry against month today and pumas whereas i think In leg two, things could get a bit dicey as LAFC learned. So it definitely does. Again, a one nil, that's an ideal result. Heck, even a nil nil if you're keeping the away goals away. So I'm curious to see how the Whitecaps can back.
Yeah, I feel like it's going to be – it doesn't feel like one that's going to break wide.
Despite the fact both these teams kind of have the ability to do that at times, I think, you know, we're going to be teetering on the nil-nil, one-nil, one-one kind of precipice. And it's just a question of, as you said, you know, can the Whitecaps be... I feel like the Whitecaps are going to be, like Jesper Sorensen, I think for the most part, will be able to get the game he wants, where his team's on the ball more often than not.
sort of, you know, moving back and forth around the edge of the box, kind of seeking out those opportunities. I think it's just a question of when Miami has those moments, is Vancouver able to limit the chance? avoid some kind of set piece or transition moment where things break down.
you know one last thing to keep an eye on just i'll throw it out there the whitecaps have actually been one of the best pressing teams in mls in terms of like again advanced metrics on white scout but ppda passes per defensive action usually measures the price the white cap's one of the best in the league right now so so that's something to watch that maybe if they can you know use that press to disrupt miami's build up is also that's also going to be huge because
you know miami's experience you know that okay if they feel the white caps are giving him 10 20 minutes of high possession they're just going to give it to busquets ask him to sit on the ball a little messy will drop a little deeper So I think having a Whitecaps press that can maybe try to suffocate some of those guys, that's also going to be a very important element. Yeah, because I mean, I think when it comes to like...
intensity, the physicality of it. The Whitecaps are a very fit team, can run, can play that high pace, especially if they're on the ball. They can play that for a... a full 90 minutes um and you know miami tends to be a little more there's kind of momentum swings throughout the match where they're really feeling it and then they kind of sit back and they settle um and so yeah can you Can you create an environment where it's difficult for Miami to get that breather to kind of come up?
I think if you can, yeah, not only, you know, try to suffocate with the possession, but also do it just with the pace of the game and the unrelenting nature. Again, I think those three midfielders for Vancouver. you know, the intensity, the physicality they can provide just to make things uncomfortable that, you know, if the Whitecaps are going to have a really successful match, it feels like that's going to be crucial.
100%. But that's been the story of this Whitecaps season. They're fun to watch. They score goals. but also they don't concede many. They defend well. You know, their XG again, average shot distance all at an elite level. They're pressing one of the best in the league. But now... If you're one of the team, oh, they haven't been playing great teams so far. You know, who cares about Austin and Portland and all this? Although Portland's like quietly third in the West now.
Weird start to the year going on out here. I mean, the West is just weird. The West is definitely not best this year, I think. And I think the East is no longer the least. It feels like there's definitely a lot more juggernauts out east as well.
Again, I think this is going to be a great test of all these things I mentioned about Jesper Sorensen's ball, the dominance on and off the ball. I think that's... for me at least for us too will probably be the most fascinating part but uh you know i guess on that note just enjoy the occasion if you are going if you snagged one of the well-priced tickets that there are for like a game of this magnitude
Obviously that helped it sell out quick, but hey, if you're one of the people that paid like 50 bucks to go to the stadium, it's going to be a good time. And hopefully just no matter what happens, it ends up being a memorable game, but also from the Whitecaps perspective.
man they've had so many heartbreakers in a game like this it would be nice for them where when the city's starting to keep catching eye of the momentum they've grabbed the start they've been on if they can get a memorable result but uh either way i think you'll be Yeah, absolutely. Very much looking forward to being in the stadium on Thursday night.
Should be a great environment. Hopefully should be a great match as well. And then we kind of, we do it all again next week, midweek, right? And, you know, I didn't even really talk about the upcoming match with Minnesota, but I think that one's going to be entertaining. as well. So, you know, we'll see whether the Whitecaps are coming off a big emotional boost or whether they have to try to try to recover and, you know, get back on track in MLS play. So that's going to be interesting as well.
As long as they get a possible result in Thursday, I think... That Minnesota squad will be a good chance for new guys. some rotation i think maybe you even see a couple next pro call-ups to to you know let let guys rest so i'll be curious to see uh a what happens thursday because i'll influence sunday but then of course like can the white cap you know maybe throw a bit of something different out on in that game and get a result but uh yeah on that note
You can find me on Twitter at Alex Conger, who's like a blue sky as well, primarily. And then Instagram AGR on the case. Lots going on in terms of CPL, NSL, et cetera, certainly in these parts.
uh haven't talked as much about it on the show as we would have liked but of course uh busy schedules etc but we're definitely talking about a lot about it there and also we've there's been some write-ups on the third sub i know sam has been uh sam wrote about his experience uh at bc place for the vancouver rise opener i know we've had some cpl content up on there so well maybe not talking about it as much
The third sub.ca is where you want to go in terms of reading all this stuff because we definitely do not miss a thing on there. But other than that, make sure you leave like a like and a review on the podcast if you did it. Samuel underscore rowboat on Twitter, the third sub dot CA. You can find us, third sub, pretty much all social platforms. Give a shout out on Instagram to Tab Morrison, new photographer who came out and shot for us some great photos from the Austin match.
Yeah, always good to have some new talent out shooting for the third sub. And as Alex mentioned, yeah, if you wanted to catch up on Canadian Women's National Team or Vancouver Rise stuff, I did some writing about both their outings. place. Had a fantastic time at the Rise. Great match. Great moment with Quinn scoring the first Just such a positive environment in the stadium that night. Like it was just such a celebration.
and I thought it was fantastic and looking forward to more more NSL matches to come more NSL content certainly on the site the rest of the year and as Alex mentioned We've been doing some CPL Canadian MLS team roundups just to kind of give you a sense of what's going on around the leagues, kind of keep you informed. Big shout out to Ivan, who's been putting in some good work on that. And yeah, you know, as well as all our pre and post match coverage of the white.
the site as per usual and then the yeah the podcast and we have time to record because life gets busy sometimes but uh i hope everyone has enjoyed this episode of the third sub podcast uh we had a blast recording it and we hope you enjoyed the matches upcoming and we'll chat