Vancouver FC take a field trip to Princess Auto Stadium on Wednesday morning to take on Valour FC in the Winnipeg club's first-ever School Day Game.
Thousands of children from schools across Winnipeg are expected to be in attendance for an 11 a.m. kickoff, a special day for the sport in the city. The league has previously seen incredibly successful School Day matches hosted by Forge at Hamilton Stadium, including a game against Atlético Ottawa in May that set a league record for attendance.
Make no mistake, though, this is an incredibly important match for both clubs. A win for either side and they are within touching distance of the fifth and final CPL playoff spot going into the weekend.
Both clubs have just a single victory this season through eight matches. For the Eagles, that lone win came against Valour FC in a 3-1 win back on May 3 at Princess Auto Stadium.
Vancouver striker Alejandro Díaz scored the winner in that match, and with 11 goals against the Winnipeg club has the most any player has managed against a single CPL opponent in league history. That remains his only goal of what has been a frustrating campaign so far for the man who has scored the second-most CPL goals ever.
Offence hasn't come particularly easily for Valour, either, as they have scored a league-low six goals this season -- and have not scored in their past two matches. They sit last in the league in touches in the box (148), and expected goals (7.27), marginally below Vancouver FC (7.72).
The Winnipeggers, however, will be feeling optimistic about their home form of late, as they are undefeated in their last four at Princess Auto Stadium in all competitions -- with their last loss that aforementioned result against Vancouver FC. They are also coming off their first league clean sheet of the season as well, in a 0-0 draw with Pacific FC this past weekend.
The Eagles, however, have always proven a tricky opponent for them. Valour have won just twice in nine all-time meetings, and only have a lower win percentage against Pacific FC and Cavalry FC in club history. Vancouver will be looking to build off an excellent first half against league leaders Atlético Ottawa on Friday, during which they took a deserved 2-0 lead. They are still trying to learn how to better close out games, however, as the capital club came back to tie it 2-2 -- and could have easily won it.
When he spoke to media this week, Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi wasn't quite sure what his travelling contingent to Winnipeg would look like -- with a number of players day-to-day with injury. Among them, central defender Aidan O'Connor is a question mark for this game, while Nicolás Mezquida is unlikely after a slight setback in his recovery.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Can Valour put on a School Day Game show: In some ways, Wednesday is just another league match for Valour -- with three crucial points on offer. But with so many young fans in attendance, potentially for the first time, this is a unique chance to impress the next generation of fans and players within the region. As such, it can be seen as a big game within Valour's season. The last time they had something of a showcase match at Princess Auto Stadium? It was a statement performance on May 20 in the Canadian Championship, a 2-2 draw with Concacaf Champions Cup finalists Vancouver Whitecaps. They will be looking to make a similar statement on Wednesday, but this time hold on for a much-needed win.
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Vancouver FC looking to find the right mix among their front three: As Vancouver FC look to sort out their attack this season, Afshin Ghotbi has often deployed a unique front three featuring three players who can best be described as number nines: Terran Campbell, Alejandro Díaz and Pathé Ndiaye. Entering their ninth match of the season, however, Vancouver are still looking to find their best attacking balance. Having limited opponents to just a single goal or fewer in six of their past eight matches in all competitions, Vancouver FC's defending is much improved -- the next step is to find the goals to turn that improvement into points. "We're experimenting, I think we've got the goalkeeper and the seven right now, it's just a matter of getting the right balance and the three on top that we're trying to make work," said Ghotbi. "So I'm excited about it, because I think that's the final touch, that's the icing on the cake of any team. I think once we get that right, and we start scoring goals from those positions, we will be a very difficult team to play against."
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Valour's Bruno Figueiredo becoming the focal point of the club's midfield: Valour FC couldn't find a victory against Pacific FC this past Sunday at home. But if there was a clear positive coming out of the match for Valour, it was the play of midfielder Bruno Figueiredo. The Portuguese holding midfielder kick-started just about every Valour attacking sequence, showing off a brilliant range of passing as he dictated the tempo of the game from his deep-lying midfield position. He was also brilliant with the ball at his feet, completing six of seven dribbles as he consistently broke the lines by carrying play up the pitch. Valour still need work in what they do in the final third, but with Figueiredo, they have a player who can consistently get the ball into that area, and give them every opportunity to build dangerous attacking moments.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Valour FC: Himaras; Fernandez, Facchineri, Egwu, Antonoglou; Twardek, Ohin, Figueiredo, Ressurreição; Layne, Hundal
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke, Campagna, Enyou, Bah; Fotsing, Norman Jr., Fry; Campbell, Díaz, Ndiaye
ALL-TIME SERIES
Valour FC wins: 2 || Vancouver FC wins: 4 || Draws: 3
Last meeting:
May 3, 2025 — Valour FC 1-3 Vancouver FC
KEY QUOTES
"I see in the group that we're feeling now that home is home. The guys are confident. They enjoy playing in our home stadium. We've had the last couple of games good crowds...there's a buzz, there's a buzz when we play at home and we want to capitalize on it." - Valour FC head coach Phil Dos Santos
"It's very special, because really the sport is all about the kids, and the players in the league everything we do is about inspiring the next generation of football lovers, and I think the performances and these fixtures hopefully allow children to dream and kind of set certain goals and objectives for themselves as sports persons." - Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
"First of all, I'm looking forward to it a lot. I think it's going to be a good game, an exciting game. And in terms of uniqueness, honestly, at least personally for me, I've played games at a bunch of different times. I think it shouldn't change much." -- Vancouver FC attacker Henri Godbout