Good Monday morning Caps fans. I hope you all are well rested and are getting ready for the week ahead. Apologies for the delayed post, as I was traveling this morning.
The Whitecaps will be back in action Wednesday against Cartagines, marking the second year in a row they open up their CONCACAF Champions Cup campaign with a trip to Costa Rica. Last time worked out alright I’d say.
Cartagines sit second in the table, well above where stalwarts Saprissa were when Vancouver played them last season. So, in short, this won’t be an easy tie, though it certainly is better than drawing a top Liga MX team or another MLS side in round one.
This match isn’t the be all end all (remember the Caps actually lost the first leg of their Saprissa tie, an inauspicious start to a historic season) but it will start to give us a taste of how Jesper Sorensen might answer some of the more pressing questions heading into this season. And with injuries to key players like Ryan Gauld and Ranko Veselinovic, we will get an insight into who Jesper Sorensen will plan on starting for big matches.
Personally, I’d expect Ralph Priso to remain a starter at CB and Kenji Cabrera, who quickly became a favorite of Sorensen’s off the bench, to grab Gauld’s spot as a starting winger. Beyond that? Well, I’d imagine we’ll see a lot of the same from last year (Mathias Laborda and Edier Ocampo patrolling the fullback position, Cubas/Berhalter/Müller in midfield, and Emmanuel Sabbi and Brian White up top). But these early matches also will gives us some insight into whether Sorensen might prefer Cheikh Sabaly or Bruno Caicedo off the bench, what he thinks of the young players, and if there are any surprises in store tactically. Plus it’s the first few moments of what will promise to once again be a wild ride — I look forward to meeting you all there.
Best of the Rest
My, how the difference a season makes for where MLS’ experts think the Caps will finish.
Thoughts from Marc dos Santos on how he plans to approach his second stint as manager in MLS.
A look at why the 2026 MLS calendar looks the way it does.
A roundup of moves from around the CPL, as their off-season business picks up.
gotta say– i didnt think the CPL would last beyond 3-4 years and here we are at year 8- weak legs are with Vancouver FC and Pacific FC- and we can surmise that somehow Edmonton will be brought back to life… again
but really the CPL has been a better quality of soccer, has offered opportunities for young players and it does have some strong franchises, led by the Forge in Hamilton
but when- if ever- do we begin to see real inroads that will sustain and grow the league – here’s hoping
Salty