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Preview: Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps meet in season decider

Preview: Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps meet in season decider

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The 2025 Major League Soccer season will end with a high-profile MLS Cup final matchup between the United States and Canada. Inter Miami versus Vancouver Whitecaps. Lionel Messi versus Thomas Müller.

By James Nalton

The 2025 final will be played at Inter Miami’s home stadium in Fort Lauderdale, courtesy of their having a better regular season record than the Whitecaps.

All eyes have been on the United States for the World Cup draw in Washington DC this week, but for a couple of hours on Saturday evening, they will be focused on some of the biggest names in the game, playing a championship game in South Florida.

Past, present, and future

This is the one Inter Miami have been looking to win since the franchise entered the league in 2020.

The expectation to win the MLS Cup became even greater when the club signed Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suárez, to the point where not winning it is seen as a failure.

This will be the final game in the careers of Alba and Busquets, and the expectation will be that they go out on a high.

Suárez’s future remains uncertain. There have been rumours that he will sign for another year, but he has been left out of recent Inter Miami lineups in favour of younger, more energetic legs around Messi.

It’s a big moment in the careers of some all-time greats, but with Messi recently signing a new deal to take his time with Miami to the end of the 2028 season, he’ll no doubt have other chances at glory in the future.

In the present, though, there is plenty on the line in what will be the final game for two footballing greats.

Messi vs Müller

The end-of-season form of teams in the Eastern and Western conferences raised the prospect of a Los Angeles FC versus Inter Miami final, which would have pit Messi against another global star, Son Heung-min.

The Whitecaps had other ideas, continuing their impressive form under Danish head coach Jesper Sørensen, who took over ahead of the 2025 season, defeating LAFC on penalties after a dramatic Western Conference semifinal.

MLS still gets its star power storylines in the final thanks to Müller, who has had a positive impact at Vancouver, and in the league generally, since joining in August, adding off-field nous as well as in-game quality.

Messi vs. Müller season stats, MLS games only

A personable and media-friendly presence in his short time in the league, he’s won over many neutrals and added to the Whitecaps’ team spirit that also defined them under previous coach Vanni Sartini.

Messi, meanwhile, has continued his extraordinary output in MLS, and has six goals and five assists in five games in the playoffs so far.

These two remain genuine stars of the game and have plenty left to give, as they’ll likely show in this final.

Opposition watch: Vancouver Whitecaps

The Whitecaps have only lost once in their last 16 games in all competitions. A run that included winning the Canadian Championship (Canada’s domestic cup).

This is also a team that defeated Inter Miami twice in the Concacaf Champions Cup (the region’s Champions League equivalent) semifinals earlier in the year, and that was before Müller arrived.

The delivery of Sebastian Berhalter, including from set pieces, will be a weapon for the Whitecaps, as will the chance-getting and goal-getting of Brian White, who is second in MLS for xG per 90 this season and second only to Messi for goals per 90.

Left-sided attacker Ali Ahmed creates chances from the flank, while Scottish attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld has been playing a role off the bench in the playoffs so far, having missed most of the regular season through injury. It’s a role that could be important if the game is still in the balance late on.

This Whitecaps team has plenty about them under Sørensen, and will be bringing the confidence gained from already defeating Inter Miami in cup competition this year into this final.

Prediction

Inter Miami have looked unstoppable in recent weeks, but Vancouver are a well-coached team that have not made it this far by accident. The story is set, though, for a Busquets and Alba send-off, and Messi will likely make sure his mates get to bow out with a cup.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every MLS game live this season with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps meet in season decider

The 2025 Major League Soccer season will end with a high-profile MLS Cup final matchup between the United States and Canada. Inter Miami versus Vancouver Whitecaps. Lionel Messi versus Thomas Müller.

By James Nalton

The 2025 final will be played at Inter Miami’s home stadium in Fort Lauderdale, courtesy of their having a better regular season record than the Whitecaps.

All eyes have been on the United States for the World Cup draw in Washington DC this week, but for a couple of hours on Saturday evening, they will be focused on some of the biggest names in the game, playing a championship game in South Florida.

Past, present, and future

This is the one Inter Miami have been looking to win since the franchise entered the league in 2020.

The expectation to win the MLS Cup became even greater when the club signed Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suárez, to the point where not winning it is seen as a failure.

This will be the final game in the careers of Alba and Busquets, and the expectation will be that they go out on a high.

Suárez’s future remains uncertain. There have been rumours that he will sign for another year, but he has been left out of recent Inter Miami lineups in favour of younger, more energetic legs around Messi.

It’s a big moment in the careers of some all-time greats, but with Messi recently signing a new deal to take his time with Miami to the end of the 2028 season, he’ll no doubt have other chances at glory in the future.

In the present, though, there is plenty on the line in what will be the final game for two footballing greats.

Messi vs Müller

The end-of-season form of teams in the Eastern and Western conferences raised the prospect of a Los Angeles FC versus Inter Miami final, which would have pit Messi against another global star, Son Heung-min.

The Whitecaps had other ideas, continuing their impressive form under Danish head coach Jesper Sørensen, who took over ahead of the 2025 season, defeating LAFC on penalties after a dramatic Western Conference semifinal.

MLS still gets its star power storylines in the final thanks to Müller, who has had a positive impact at Vancouver, and in the league generally, since joining in August, adding off-field nous as well as in-game quality.

Messi vs. Müller season stats, MLS games only

A personable and media-friendly presence in his short time in the league, he’s won over many neutrals and added to the Whitecaps’ team spirit that also defined them under previous coach Vanni Sartini.

Messi, meanwhile, has continued his extraordinary output in MLS, and has six goals and five assists in five games in the playoffs so far.

These two remain genuine stars of the game and have plenty left to give, as they’ll likely show in this final.

Opposition watch: Vancouver Whitecaps

The Whitecaps have only lost once in their last 16 games in all competitions. A run that included winning the Canadian Championship (Canada’s domestic cup).

This is also a team that defeated Inter Miami twice in the Concacaf Champions Cup (the region’s Champions League equivalent) semifinals earlier in the year, and that was before Müller arrived.

The delivery of Sebastian Berhalter, including from set pieces, will be a weapon for the Whitecaps, as will the chance-getting and goal-getting of Brian White, who is second in MLS for xG per 90 this season and second only to Messi for goals per 90.

Left-sided attacker Ali Ahmed creates chances from the flank, while Scottish attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld has been playing a role off the bench in the playoffs so far, having missed most of the regular season through injury. It’s a role that could be important if the game is still in the balance late on.

This Whitecaps team has plenty about them under Sørensen, and will be bringing the confidence gained from already defeating Inter Miami in cup competition this year into this final.

Prediction

Inter Miami have looked unstoppable in recent weeks, but Vancouver are a well-coached team that have not made it this far by accident. The story is set, though, for a Busquets and Alba send-off, and Messi will likely make sure his mates get to bow out with a cup.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every MLS game live this season with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.