2025 TELUS Canadian Championship -- Quarter-Final (Leg 1)
Valour FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
May 20 at 7:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. PT
Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Watch Live: OneSoccer // Tickets available here
For the first time ever, Valour FC will welcome a Major League Soccer team to Winnipeg on Tuesday, when the high-flying Vancouver Whitecaps come to Princess Auto Stadium to kick off this TELUS Canadian Championship quarter-final tie.
It's certainly a formidable foe that arrives in Manitoba, with the Whitecaps currently the most in-form team in perhaps all of North America. They sit first in MLS's Western Conference with an 8-4-1 record, but the biggest story of their 2025 so far has been their remarkable run in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Vancouver have knocked out two Mexican giants in Monterrey and Pumas, and dominated Lionel Messi's Inter Miami en route to the final, which they'll play against Cruz Azul on June 1.
That's precisely why the Whitecaps will be very interested in this Canadian Championship tie. They've won the Voyageurs' Cup three years in a row now, and this year's run in Concacaf -- for which they qualified by winning last year's CanChamp -- has made it clear to them how great a reward awaits at the end of this tournament.
However, Valour don't intend to make it easy on their MLS adversaries. The Winnipeggers are preparing for one of the biggest games in club history, and an opportunity to test themselves against arguably the strongest opponent they've ever played.
Valour come into this match with a little renewed confidence, having picked up their first win of the 2025 season on Friday in a 2-1 comeback victory over York United. They've only got four points right now, but a big result at home right before they take on the Whitecaps might give them the boost of energy they need.
This won't be the first time Valour have confronted the Whitecaps; the two sides played in the preliminary round of the 2022 Canadian Championship at BC Place, but the 'Caps were comfortable 2-0 victors on that occasion.
Not much of the 2022 Valour squad remains to remember that contest, but head coach Phillip Dos Santos does, and he will be very keen on finally striking back at the Whitecaps, who parted ways with him and his brother Marc back in 2021 after losing to Pacific FC.
Vancouver come into this one with a bit of a point to prove; they have been held to a draw in their last two MLS games, including a 0-0 result at Austin FC on Saturday which Whitecaps coach Jesper Sørensen called their worst performance of the season.
Sørensen did mention this clash with Valour after the match on Saturday, and he pointed out that his team can't take it lightly. He rejected any suggestion that the Whitecaps should solely be playing not to get injured ahead of the Champions Cup final; he said that if they play to avoid injury, they'll lose.
The Whitecaps will be bringing almost all of their top stars to Winnipeg; their official roster submitted for the match includes Canadian national team regulars Ali Ahmed and Sam Adekugbe, as well as star striker Brian White (14 goals in all competitions already this year) as well as Sebastian Berhalter and Jayden Nelson. The most significant absence is Ryan Gauld, who has been out with injury since March.
Valour, meanwhile, certainly won't be holding anything back. Dos Santos told reporters on Friday night that he's well aware this might be an uphill climb for his team, but all he's asking for is their best effort, at least akin to what they showed against York.
If they can give that, then who knows what could happen.
"At the end of the day, they're 11 guys, we're 11 guys; let's not be afraid, let's enjoy it," Dos Santos said. "When you go to a gala, you might as well dance."
Canadian Championship History
Last meeting: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 Valour FC -- May 12, 2022
Valour FC:
All-time record: 2W-0D-6L
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2021) -- Lost 2-1 to Forge FC
Vancouver Whitecaps:
All-time record: 26W-14D-15L
Best finish: Champions (2015, 2022, 2023, 2024)