A busy weekend of Canadian Premier League action comes to an end in the Lower Mainland, as Vancouver FC gets set to host York United at Langley’s Willoughby Community Park on Sunday.
York’s first visit to Langley since the first week of the season, when they picked up a 2-0 victory to kick off their season on a high note, it promises to be a much different matchup for both sides this time around, however.
Granted, that first game has proven to be a bit of foreshadowing for what was to come for both teams in CPL action - York has since soared to fourth place in the table, sitting within three points of third place heading into this matchup; while Vancouver finds themselves in last place, already eliminated from playoff contention.
At the same time, while the point gap between both teams in the table might suggest that this match could lack stakes, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
To begin with the hosts, they’re coming into this game on a high note, as they just beat Atlético Ottawa in the semi-finals of the Canadian Championship to earn a berth in the final - becoming the first CPL side to do so in a full tournament.
Now, their local neighbours, the Vancouver Whitecaps, await them in the final on October 1st, in what promises to be a thrilling final at BC Place.
Because of that, the next few weeks will be about building on what Vancouver FC accomplished in Ottawa, where they held onto a 3-1 lead in leg two, conceding just one goal in a 1-0 defeat to win 3-2 on aggregate.
“We're gonna have to rotate a little bit,” Vancouver’s interim head coach, Martin Nash, said this week.
He added: “You want to see those guys step up, especially with the carrot of being involved in the game in two weeks, so we’re just trying to build on (the win vs. Ottawa), and have another good performance. When these guys play like warriors, they're a difficult team to beat, and that's how they played yesterday.”
Meanwhile, for York, their focus is on finishing the season as high as possible in the table, setting themselves up for what they hope is a deep playoff run.
After suffering heartbreaking playoff eliminations in back-to-back years, as they fell to a late goal to Pacific in the first round in 2023, and lost to rivals Atlético Ottawa on penalties in the quarter-finals last year, York have their sights on bigger goals this year.
Therefore, look for them to pick up a big victory, one that could narrow that three-point gap between them and third-place Cavalry - or perhaps eliminate it altogether.
“Yeah, we’re in a good moment,” York’s head coach, Mauro Eustáquio, said this week. “We’re potentially still fighting for some of our objectives of the season, we're still breaking internal records, and that's something that I want to continue to do.”
As for player availability, Vancouver are still unsure who will be available after giving several players heavy minutes in the Canadian Championship - York will meanwhile be without Oswaldo Léon as he serves the last game of a suspension, and could be without Julian Altobelli after he picked up a knock in training this week.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Can Vancouver build off the momentum of cup run? While Vancouver will be frustrated that they haven’t turned the magic of their cup run into much more in league play, as they’ve accumulated just 12 points from 23 CPL matches this year, leading to their early playoff elimination, they can still finish the year on a high note. Plus, with the final looming in two weeks, it’ll almost be to their advantage to find form ahead of that match, as they’ll want to put their best foot forward to have any chance of dispatching a Whitecaps side that has won three Canadian Championships in a row. At the same time, the story of Vancouver FC’s season is that they haven’t been able to build off any of their positive results in the cup - to that point, they’ve got a record of 0W-1D-3L in the four league games they’ve immediately played following cup matches. It won’t be easy to change that in this match, as they’ll be quite fatigued after a physically and emotionally draining performance vs. Ottawa, but perhaps they can finally harness the momentum this cup run has given them now that they sit one game away from glory, helping them catch York by surprise.
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York looking to use competition to their advantage: After spending most of the year juggling injuries and suspensions, this York side has been starting to welcome back players over the past few weeks, and that’s increased the battle levels in an already competitive squad. Having built a team that aims to be at least two-deep at each position, it’s made squad selection quite hard, as Eustáquio has had to make some tough decisions to put his best team out each week. At the same time, he doesn’t mind that - he now has a team full of players hungry to prove themselves, and has the options to throw something different at teams, noting that this squad depth has been very advantageous for him tactically, in particular. Because of that, look for York to have a squad hungry to prove themselves from the start, knowing that there are also difference-makers ready to make an impact off the bench, too.
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Two familiar faces set to reunite on sidelines: Even though it’s been almost two months since Vancouver FC’s interim head coach, Martin Nash, took over this Vancouver side, this York team is the last side he’s yet to play - fitting, given they just happen to be his old side. Plus, for good measure, he happens to have deep ties with Eustáquio, whom he’s coached as a player at multiple clubs, before the pair worked together at York United, with Eustáquio an assistant to Nash. Because of that, this will be a good reunion for the pair, who are looking to push their teams to new heights this fall, with Vancouver’s Canadian Championship run and York’s CPL playoffs ambitions. Ultimately, this game will be decided by the players on the pitch, so this is a secondary storyline, although it’ll be interesting to see how two coaches who know each other so well try to approach this first meeting against each other.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke, Campagna, O'Connor, Enyou; Fotsing, Norman Jr.; Campbell, Mezquida, Bah; Mbongue
York United FC: Pavela; Ferrari, Sturing, Singh, Botello; Yeates, Kibato; Reid, López, Ferrin; Hundal
ALL-TIME SERIES
Vancouver wins: 1 || York United wins: 9 || Draws: 2
Last meeting:
Jul. 19, 2025 — York United 4-0 Vancouver FC
KEY QUOTES
“We're trying to win every game, we’ve got to have that attitude. We're going to put our best foot forward and compete in every match for 90 minutes - that's all I can ask for from the players; it's more about the process than worrying about results. Let's play as a team and do the things we've been training on, and not worry about the result. If you do the business, you do what you’re supposed to do, and follow the process, the results will come.” – Vancouver FC interim head coach Martin Nash
“We're a consistent group. I think we're more together than we have ever been in the locker room. You can see it in our training sessions, you can see it once we're around each other, having a meal as a team, or whenever else, you can see that the bonding is there. It's good to have everybody fit and ready now, between international breaks, injuries and the other, I wasn't able to have a full squad, but now having a full squad, we know that our roster is competitive. I can change players and not drop that intensity that we've been bringing into games. So I'm happy with where we are, and we're all extremely motivated, between the ownership, the staff and the players. We want to continue breaking records, and we want to push for that third-place spot.” – York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio
