It all comes down to this.

After an improbable, incredible season, the Vancouver Whitecaps will play for their first MLS Cup on Saturday. To claim the biggest trophy of them all, they’ll have to dethrone Lionel Messi and Inter Miami at Chase Stadium.

It’s worth repeating just how remarkable it is that Vancouver has reached this point. Anyone who genuinely thought this outcome was in the cards back in March should probably consider buying lottery tickets or opening a fortune-telling business.

But Vancouver won’t be awed by the stage. Jesper Sørensen’s team has already handled big moments this year, including their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal against this very Inter Miami side, a match in which Vancouver dispatched Messi and Co. and triggered a full-on reckoning in Miami.

This, however, is a different Miami team. Javier Mascherano has reshaped the setup to stabilize what had been a leaky defense, and several early-season regulars, Oscar Ustari, Marcelo Weingandt, even Luis Suárez, have been pushed aside in favor of a fresh approach. Messi has thrived as a false nine with room to roam, feeding Mateo Silvetti and Tadeo Allende, and Miami has torn through the last two playoff rounds with Messi contributing 13 goal involvements.

Miami also didn’t have Rodrigo De Paul when the teams met in the CCC. The Argentine international, essentially their fourth DP, has added protection in transition while gradually taking on a freer play making role.

None of that guarantees a Miami title. Vancouver has been every bit as dominant in their playoff run, and Miami has yet to face a team as intent on taking the game to its opponent as the ‘Caps are. Sørensen will want to replicate the same blueprint that worked so well in the semifinal.

Sebastian Berhalter and Andrés Cubas (a longtime Messi foil) controlled Miami in that tie and will expect to do it again. Ali Ahmed and Emmanuel Sabbi enter in fine form, and will still believe they can exploit vulnerabilities in Miami’s back line, especially the space that appears when fullbacks, notably Jordi Alba, drift too far forward. Tristan Blackmon’s return from suspension should also provide a boost, giving the ‘Caps a centre-back pairing, Blackmon and Ralph Priso, capable of bypassing Sergio Busquets and De Paul with their passing.

This feels like a match that will be decided in midfield. Either Berhalter, Cubas, and Müller (most likely, more on that in a moment) will be bulldogs again, tilting the field in Vancouver’s favour as they’ve done all postseason, or Miami will find the time and space to slice Vancouver apart in transition. Sørensen will like his chances in that battle, but Messi’s magic is, as ever, mercurial.

One imagines Sørensen sticking to the XI he has trusted throughout the playoffs, with Blackmon returning. The one question is Müller, who hasn’t looked fully comfortable recently amid rumblings of a knock. He’ll be desperate to start, and he should, given how much his big-game experience has elevated this team, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ryan Gauld enter earlier than usual in the second half.

As for the match itself, this feels like as good a situation as Vancouver could reasonably hope for, even if it still looks like a coin flip. The encouraging part? This is no longer a team simply happy to be here. This season has transformed the club’s standing, both locally and across MLS. Nearly every major moment since the CCC Final has gone Vancouver’s way, and this squad has proven it knows how to win when it matters.

Ninety, or 120, more minutes are all that separate Vancouver from the biggest win in club history.