The Vancouver Whitecaps and Orlando City SC will meet on Saturday night in an effort to determine who will be able to weather the ongoing international break storm.

This is a makeup game that was originally supposed to be played in August. Those plans were scuttled, however, when Orlando made the Leagues Cup third-place match, forcing the can to get kicked down the road.

Anytime you have to play a match during an international break, things are naturally a bit farcical. That is multiplied by several factors when the reason behind the scheduling is a meaningless match that didn’t need to happen. Nonetheless, this game has plenty of significance for both sides.

A win for Vancouver would see them enter decision day controlling their own destiny in terms of winning the Western Conference (a draw might suffice if LAFC loses on Sunday night against Austin). Orlando, meanwhile, could still mathematically finish in the top four of the East…and also could easily slip into the wild card match, depending on how results go over the next week. That’s how tightly bunched together the playoff teams are in the East.

This matchup is always a fun one, as it represents the two of the teams furthest apart geographically in MLS. It hasn’t happened since 2019, when Vancouver lost 1-0 (incidentally, however, this team has won twice in Orlando previously, including a 2-1 win in 2017 where the ‘Caps got outshot nearly four-to-one. Robbo-ball!).

Both sides will be running out heavily rotated teams. Orlando will have four players on international duty: David Brekalo, Tyrese Spicer, and, most importantly, Alex Freeman and Marko Pasalic, who are arguably their two best players in 2025.

Vancouver, meanwhile, will bid adieu to Ali Ahmed, Jayden Nelson, Kenji Cabrera, Rayan Elloumi, and Andres Cubas. Brian White will miss out due to injury, but Joedrick Pupe is back in full training and could feature. And Jesper Sorensen said the goal is to get more minutes for Ryan Gauld, though the captain still isn’t ready for a full 90 minutes.

Orlando has one win and three draws since the aforementioned Leagues Cup run, but hasn’t really quite looked the part lately (they got battered by Columbus and were probably lucky to get a point). This is a team that was scorching hot in late July and early August but has otherwise been a bit up and down all year, with their fortunes largely tied to the performances of their strikers, notably Luis Muriel.

The ‘Caps are lucky Freeman won’t be around because Oscar Pareja has largely built this team around their young fullback, who has been perhaps their most impactful piece.

But Orlando certainly still has danger. Muriel is hit or miss, but when he is on, he is one of the most dangerous strikers in the league. Martin Ojeda has been excellent, with 25 goal contributions in MLS play, showing that he stepped out from under the shadow of departed playmaker Facundo Torres (at one point in the season, Ojeda went an astounding 15 matches in a row with a goal contribution). Orlando has been one of the most prolific sides in the league, sitting fifth in goals per match, even though they don’t need much of the ball and instead rely on Pasalic and Freeman to take advantage of space in transition.

Defensively, Orlando has been average, though they will be without one of their two starting centrebacks (Brekalo) and Cesar Araujo, who has been a key cog as a defensive midfielder and is questionable with a knock. Meanwhile, keeper Pedro Gallese has been mercurial, and Brekalo’s partner at centerback, Robin Jansson, has fallen off slightly from his status as a best XI caliber player. Orlando hasn’t kept a clean sheet in the league since June, and the ‘Caps will look to ensure that streak continues.

Vancouver won’t be missing quite as many players as they were during the Gold Cup, as Sebastian Berhalter did not get called up by Mauricio Pochettino, and Thomas Mueller is past having to worry about such things. The backline will likely look about as it has, though it will be interesting to see if Sorensen goes with Belal Halbouni or Ralph Priso, who has looked excellent as a centreback, to pair with Mathias Laborda. Daniel Rios will return up top, and Sorensen will also have a question as to who will play on the wing alongside Emmanuel Sabbi, with Ahmed and Nelson both gone.

This one is a bit of a dice roll, given the selection problems both managers will be faced with. Orlando might still be able to muster a slightly stronger lineup, but Vancouver has a real chance to take points here and meaningfully improve their position heading into decision day. And, given the circumstances, that is about as good a situation as you could ask for.