Vancouver Whitecaps FC play the first competitive match of the 2024 MLS calendar year on Wednesday evening, hosting Liga MX powerhouse Tigres UANL in Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
How to watch & stream
- Canada: OneSoccer
- USA: Tubi (English), ViX (Spanish)
When
- Wednesday, February 7 | 10 pm ET/7 pm PT
Where
- Starlight Stadium | Langford, British Columbia
Vancouver are hosts at Starlight Stadium – home to Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC – due to scheduling issues at BC Place, their typical home venue.
Leg 2 awaits on Feb. 14 at Tigres' Estadio Universitario, with the winner facing either Orlando City SC or Cavalry SC come the Round of 16 in early March. The advancing team is first decided by aggregate goals, then (if necessary) by away goals.
Expanded and rebranded for 2024, the Champions Cup winner qualifies for both the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. The tournament final is held on June 2.
How they qualified: 2023 Canadian Championship winner
Vancouver have faced an accelerated preseason timeline, recently returning from a trip to Marbella, Spain. Will that experience leave head coach Vanni Sartini's team ready to shock Tigres?
Doing so is complicated by how midfielder Ali Ahmed (sports hernia) and left back Sam Adekugbe (knee) are both unavailable. But they've added reinforcements this winter as well: veteran forwards Damir Kreilach and Fafà Picault joined in free agency, plus center back Bjørn Inge Utvik arrives from Norway. And midfielder Pedro Vite (Ecuador U-23s) and striker Brian White (USA) are back from international duty.Â
Last year, Vancouver earned the Western Conference's No. 6 seed in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. They were led all season by the one-two punch of White and Ryan Gauld, a duo that combined for 26g/17a.
How they qualified: 2022-23 Liga MX Clausura champion
Tigres sit third in the 2024 Liga MX Clausura table, only behind Monterrey and Club América on tiebreakers. They've also never lost to Vancouver, most recently winning a PK shootout at BC Place that decided a 2023 Leagues Cup Round-of-32 match. Further, they won the Champions Cup in 2020 over LAFC and made three more finals from 2016-19.
Beyond history and form, Tigres have star power: Goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán, center back Guido Pizarro, midfielder Rafael Carioca and forward André-Pierre Gignac are still central figures. Mexican internationals Diego Lainez and Sebastián Córdova are game-changers, as are midfielder Fernando Gorriarán and striker Nicolás Ibáñez.
What we're saying is Tigres are among the tournament favorites, giving Vancouver a formidable challenge across two legs.
