Vancouver Whitecaps on verge of Concacaf Champions Cup final: "We're close"

The job’s not done.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Ali Ahmed conveyed as much in the buildup to their Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal Leg 2 clash Wednesday night at Inter Miami CF’s Chase Stadium (8 pm ET | FS1, OneSoccer; TUDN, ViX).

The Whitecaps enter with a 2-0 aggregate lead after Sebastian Berhalter and Brian White scored at BC Place last Thursday. But they’re only at the halfway point, and much can change.

“Especially going against Inter Miami, we know what we’re up against and who they have,” Ahmed said.

“They’re a special team. We know the job’s not even close to being done and we’re going to have to dig deep.”

Digging deep

The good news? Vancouver have produced inspired performances in each Leg 2 match of their remarkable CCC run.

They overcame a Round One deficit, advancing with a 2-0 win over Costa Rica’s Deportivo Saprissa. Come the Round of 16, the Whitecaps cast aside CF Monterrey with a 2-2 road draw. Then they eliminated a second-straight Mexican club in the quarterfinals, getting a memorable 93rd-minute equalizer from Tristan Blackmon in a 2-2 draw at Pumas UNAM.

When the going’s got tough, head coach Jesper Sørensen’s squad has stepped up.

“We know that we have a lead, but we’ve seen in many games that can be a little fragile,” Sørensen said. “And the last two times we’ve been away, in the second leg, we knew that we had to go out and at least score a goal to produce a result.

“So it has to be a very balanced approach again, but we also know that scoring a goal here would be huge for us. We’ll definitely be looking to see how the possibilities for scoring are.”

Rapid rise

Crucially, Vancouver pitched a shutout in Leg 1 and created breathing room to handle Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and the rest of Inter Miami’s attacking group.

But the Whitecaps likely won't sit back and absorb wave after wave of pressure. If anything, on-ball comfort and free-flowing moves have powered their place atop the MLS Western Conference and Supporters' Shield standings.

It’s all come three-and-a-half months since Sørensen was hired, and with club captain Ryan Gauld still recovering from a knee injury.

“We are all connected on the pitch and off the pitch,” said goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka. “Since Jesper joined the club, we keep building our structure and we’re improving a lot.”

History awaits

Now, the Whitecaps are on the precipice of history. The series winner books their place in the CCC final on June 1, coming up against LIGA MX’s Cruz Azul or Tigres UANL.

Again, the mentality is clear.

“We’re close, but still far away,” Sørensen. “We would rather be here with a 2-0 lead than the other guys. The other times we’ve been here with a 1-1 draw. We also know that we’re up against a good team where a lot can happen during the 90 or even 120 minutes if we have to go that way.

“… We have to go out and believe in the way we play. The reason we are here is because of the way we are playing and because of the performance the players have put up. That’s actually the most important.”