Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all had a good Canada Day and that you’re headed in for a good weekend and a well-earned rest.
Some late breaking news, as the Caps have announced they’ve used their buyout on Damir Kreilach. We will discuss this move more in depth next week but it is objectively the right one. While he hasn’t been able to match his RSL heroics for the Caps, Kreilach has been a model professional and we wish him luck on his next move.
The Whitecaps have a rare Friday night tilt, as they look to frustrate LA Galaxy’s 4th of July celebrations. There’s been plenty of frustration in Carson this year, as the MLS Cup defense hasn’t gone to plan. LA are still on nine points and are the clear favorites for wooden spoon at this point, with injuries, poor tactics and uninspired play dooming their season so far.
This is the kind of match I hate as a fan and one in which the Caps’ newfound status as MLS elites is going to backfire. Anything less than three points will be a disappointment given LA’s performances to date. Their performances have been slightly less abysmal recently, picking up five of those nine points in their last four matches. But this is one Vancouver, even with a lengthy list of absences (which will now include Andres Cubas AND Ralph Priso, with the latter picking up a yellow card accumulation suspension in the last match) should be winning.
Indeed, the Caps enter a potentially crucial part of the season. Their run to the Leagues Cup break features these matches: LA (away), Houston (away), Colorado (away), San Diego (away) and Sporting KC (home), plus the home leg of the Canadian Championship tie with Valour.
Only San Diego and Colorado (barely) are above the playoff line but these are some of the trickiest away matches given Houston’s summer heat, Colorado’s altitude and San Diego looking like a wagon currently. If Vancouver want to remain in with a chance at the Supporters Shield, these are determinative matches.
How many points would you feel comfortable with in these? I’d say nine to ten feels like a pretty realistic hope. Not that the Caps are immediately scrubs if they fall short of that amount but it would probably leave them on the outside looking in for the race to win the West and, possibly, the Shield. They will almost certainly have to do this without Ryan Gauld, though the Gold Cup final looms this weekend (and Jayden Nelson is back anyway), meaning reinforcements are coming.
Nine points from these matches would see Vancouver match their 2024 output with plenty of time to spare. They would also be only ten points off the level needed last year to secure a home playoff series, which even the most optimistic among us would have been thrilled with at the start of the season. This being MLS, weird stuff will happen. But a productive thrust through to the Leagues Cup break would mean the possibility of something more would remain very tangible indeed.
Shameless Self Promotion
We look ahead to what to expect from LA Galaxy tonight. Meanwhile Caleb takes a deeper dive into Nelson Pierre’s profile and how he compares with other young strikers.
Best of the Rest
Fresh off their Gold Cup disappointment, the Canadian men will face Australia in Montreal in a friendly. Meanwhile, the women were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by the U.S.
Jonathan David is headed for Juventus, a good move (IMO) for the star striker.
Lots of schadenfreude going around at the expense of Toronto FC, who cut ties with Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, bringing the Italian era to an end.
A look at how we should think about MLS post Club World Cup?