In Episode 261 of the Third Sub Podcast, Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic and Samuel Rowan dive into a busy start to the 2026 season for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Welcome back to another episode of the Third Sub Podcast!
In this episode, Alex and Sam are back, as usual, this time to chat about all things Vancouver Whitecaps.
To begin, they dive into the latest out of the Whitecaps, who are off to a busy start to the 2026 season, having already played four matches, with two of them coming in the Concacaf Champions Cup, and two others coming in MLS play.
So far, though, they’ve been close to perfect across those matches, of which they’ve won three and drawn one, with the one draw coming in the first leg of their first round CCC tie against C.S. Cartaginés.
Since then, they followed that up with a pair of wins over Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC in MLS play, along with a 2-0 win over Cartaginés in leg two of that aforementioned CCC tie, as they now sit tied for first in MLS, and into the Round of 16 of the CCC (where their Cascadian rivals, the Seattle Sounders, await).
Alex and Sam look back at what’s stood out from this stretch for the Whitecaps, as they’ve shown good growth on the offensive side of the game, and look better than ever defensively – although it’s worth noting that they’re still awaiting much stiffer tests over the next few months.
For now, though, they’ll look to continue their hot start to the 2026 season this weekend, when they take on another Cascadian rival, the Portland Timbers, in Portland, before returning home to take on the Sounders in the first leg of their Round of 16 CCC tie a few days later.
They look at what to expect in that Timbers match, in particular, especially knowing that the Sounders await a few days later.
Make sure to check out The Third Sub Podcast on Twitter, @thirdsubpod, as well as on Instagram, @the3rdsub_.
Photo Credit: Chaehyun Lim
The Third Sub can be found on Spotify, Google Play, Apple Podcasts and Anchor. It can also now be found on Breaker, Overcast, Pocket Casts and Radio Public, so if you have any of those platforms installed, you can now find it on them.