Müller, Vancouver Whitecaps ready to battle Messi’s Inter Miami for MLS Cup

Vancouver Whitecaps' Thomas Muller looks at the MLS Cup trophy during a news conference ahead of the MLS Cup final soccer match, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Jesper Sorensen didn’t expect to be here.

The Danish soccer coach wasn’t exactly familiar with Major League Soccer a year ago. Now he and his Vancouver Whitecaps are on the cusp of hoisting the league’s top trophy.

The Whitecaps will battle Inter Miami for the MLS Cup on Saturday.

When Sorensen took the role of Whitecaps head coach in January, he hoped to do well, but didn’t know much about the players he’d be working with.

“And I didn’t have any expectation that I would end up in the final, having Thomas (Muller) on our team, against Lionel Messi,” he said.

The ‘Caps have gone on extended winning streaks and bounced back from hard losses.

“I think it’s great being here. I didn’t expect it at all,” Sorensen said. ”But as the season went by, you start seeing that you have the quality to maybe take it far. And now here we are.”

Many have billed Saturday’s final as a head-to-head battle between Muller and Messi, two of the league’s brightest stars.

Messi, a 38-year-old Argentine forward, has been the face of Inter Miami — and the MLS — for three seasons. The reigning FIFA World Cup winner topped the league in both goals (29) and assists (19) during regular-season play.

Curbing his offensive power will be a “collective effort” for the ‘Caps, Sorensen said.

“We know that we’re up against a player who is considered by many — and rightfully so — the best to ever play this game," he said. “And we know that you always have to expect the unexpected when you go up against a player like Lionel Messi because what he can do is … nothing you can prepare for.”

Muller, meanwhile, signed with the Whitecaps in mid-August following 17 distinguished seasons with Bayern Munich.

The 36-year-old Golden Boot winner at the 2010 World Cup added creative playmaking ability to a Vancouver side that already hovered near the top of the Western Conference standings, while his charisma shone a new light on a team that rarely made headlines outside of B.C.

Saturday will mark the 10th time Muller and Messi have faced one another across both club and international competition. While Muller’s teams have a 7-3 edge in the matchups, the German soccer legend isn’t thinking about those victories ahead of the MLS Cup.

“I always have my confidence to beat someone, or to compete with someone as a team and as an individual. So I don’t need my history that much to be confident,” he said.

“It gives you a little bit of a good feeling but the game is decided on the pitch on Saturday.”

Vancouver already has two wins over Miami this year, taking a 2-0 victory at B.C. Place in May, then downing the club 3-1 in Florida weeks later to advance to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.

It’s a defeat that still resonates with Miami, said defender Noah Allen.

“They’re a great team. They beat us in the CONCACAFs. We know that, it stung,” he said. ”But we kept that in our minds, right? Going into this final, we had that motivation in our minds.”

While the Whitecaps fell to Liga MX side Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, they added another trophy to their case in October, winning the Canadian Championship for the fourth year in a row.

The title was the 34th of Muller’s career, making him the most decorated player in German soccer history.

Asked Thursday what it would mean to add an MLS Cup to his illustrious resume, Muller said that’s his main goal.

“At the moment, I rank it No. 1. Because it’s the only final we’re talking about,” he said. ”At for the moment, for me, this final is the most important thing in my life.”

The ‘Caps know earning yet another win over a talented Miami team won’t be easy, but it’s a task the team has been preparing for since beginning training camp back in January, said midfielder Sebastian Berhalter.

“We’ve been ready for this whole season,” he said. “The pressure, it comes with it, you know? It’s a privilege. It’s fun and I think our guys are going to lean into it. Home team, away team, I don’t think it matters. We just want to go out there and execute.”

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This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published Dec. 4, 2025.