Orlando City vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Three Keys to Victory

There are only two matches left before the playoffs and Orlando City can finish anywhere from securing home-field advantage for a first-round playoff series to having to go on the road for the wild card play-in match. Points are at a premium, and it will not be easy as the Lions welcome the Vancouver Whitecaps to Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday. The Whitecaps are in a position to win the Western Conference and won’t want to settle for a draw. This is a tough match for an Orlando City team looking to rediscover its early season form. What must Orlando City do to earn all three points against Vancouver Saturday night?

Next Man Up

This match was originally scheduled for Aug. 30 but was moved because of Leagues Cup. If you want to hear my thoughts on all the ramifications of Leagues Cup this season for Orlando City you can listen to many episodes of The Mane Land PawedCast, including the one that just dropped this week. Spoiler: I don’t like it. The latest negative is the rescheduling of this match. It put the match in an international window that sees David Brekalo, Alex Freeman, Javier Otero, Marco Pašalić, and Tyrese Spicer — along with OCB players Gustavo Caraballo, Colin Guske, and Justin Ellis — unavailable as they were called up to their respective national teams.

The loss of Freeman and Brekalo means we will have a back line likely consisting of Robin Jansson and Rodrigo Schlegel in the middle and Adrián Marín on the left with either Dagur Dan Thorhallsson or Kyle Smith on the right. While that isn’t horrible, it isn’t the first choice lineup against a good Vancouver offense.

In the midfield, Joran Gerbet left injured last match, meaning that if Cesar Araujo (listed as questionable the last game) isn’t available, either Thorhallsson or Smith is likely to get the start depending on which one is at right back. Again, that is not a first choice lineup. Add Pasalic’s absence in the attack and this is a thin squad. I’m not even going to address the bench, as I’m sure it is obvious it will be threadbare. All of this means that those who start or come on need to step up their game or it might get ugly.

Dee-fense (Clap, Clap), Dee-fense

I waited to mention another consequence of the match being rescheduled. Vancouver added a guy named Thomas Muller. If you’re unfamiliar with his record, he mostly played for Bayern Munich and the German national team. He is the most decorated German player of all time with 13 Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, eight DFL-Supercups, two UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups, one FIFA World Cup, and the Canadian Championship. Sure, he’s 36 years old, but he already has five goals and three assists for Vancouver in only five matches. That’s pretty good.

In an “of course that happened to Orlando” way, Mauricio Pochettino called up Freeman, but didn’t call up Vancouver and USMNT striker Brian White or attacking midfielder Sebastian Berhalter. White leads the Whitecaps with 16 goals this season with an assist to boot. Berhalter is the reigning MLS Player of the Matchday and has four goals and 11 assists in 2025. This is a team that has scored 63 goals this season. Getting any type of good result will be contingent on Orlando City’s defense keeping Vancouver off the scoreboard or at worst limiting the damage as much as possible. This is especially crucial with the Lions’ recent run of scoring more than one goal in a game only once in the last four league games and once in the last eight competitive matches overall.

Don’t Be Timid

I’m not at all certain Orlando City can run and gun with Vancouver, but scoring multiple goals is probably necessary. There is a real danger for being aggressive on the offense given the Whitecaps’ offensive prowess, but if the Lions can score twice before Vancouver gets on the board, it will make things easier, though not a sure thing. Despite Pasalic being gone, Orlando still has Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel, and Duncan McGuire on offense. What Orlando City cannot do is sit back and hope a depleted defense can weather the storm.

There are good options for being more aggressive. Starting at the back, Robin Jansson has an accurate long ball that can find one of the three mentioned above. Eduard Atuesta and Ojeda are good at working the ball into the opponents’ half. Thorhallsson isn’t afraid to get into the attack, even if he isn’t as lethal as Freeman. Where it really matters is in front of goal. The Lions must finish the chances, and they must not be afraid to shoot the ball — a problem that plagued the club against Columbus. One goal is unlikely to get the job done.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!