Pouring one out for all our Vancouver readers this week.

Not only did the ‘Caps suffer another heartbreaking loss in a major final, but they did it while rumours swirled about their future as a club.

Plus, at long last CanMNT know who they will play at the 2026 World Cup (mostly), some big goals for Canadian ballers and more in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

That was long and drawn-out. On Friday, in Washington, DC, FIFA drew the groups for the 2026 World Cup… that is after like two hours of celebrity worship, musical performances and political theatre. Mexico was drawn into Group A, Canada into Group B, and the USA into Group D. The ceremony itself was long and cringeworthy. Please, FIFA, don’t do that again.

Group B is an interesting one. At long last, Canada learned their group, or at least two of their three opponents. First, in Pot 2, they drew Switzerland, a difficult European opponent. Pot 3 pulled up Qatar, the 2022 hosts. Finally, Canada will have to wait until March to learn their final opponent, the winner of UEFA Playoff path A between Italy, Wales, Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

What does this mean for Canada? Jesse Marsch probably summed it up best: not the hardest group, but also not the easiest. Canada avoided some of the trickier opponents they could have faced, like Norway, while getting a team in Qatar that is very beatable. But Switzerland are TOUGH. They didn’t lose a single game in 2025, and have gotten out of their group at four of the last five World Cups. Plus, not knowing their final opponent until a couple of months out will be difficult for Canada scouting-wise, but whoever it is, it will be a good test.

With this being a 48-team tournament for the first time, as many as three teams can make it out of the group. The top two do so automatically, like in the past, while eight of the 12 third-place teams also lock up a spot in the Round of 32. Canada will have eyes on finishing first in Group B, and playing those knockout matches in Vancouver.

The schedule has been announced. And it is fair to feel a little disappointed if you are a Canadian footy fan. BMO Field will host one marquee matchup, Germany vs. Ivory Coast, but otherwise, they host Panama twice (vs. Ghana and Croatia) and Senegal vs. Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname. They also host a round of 32 match between the runners-up of Group K and L.

Vancouver has two Canada games, as well as Round 32 and Round of 16 match, but Belgium is the biggest team they are guaranteed to see, and they are playing New Zealand in Group G action.

With that being said, World Cup matches are World Cup matches, and now the anticipation begins as the last few grains of sand drop through the hourglass, counting down to the 2026 tournament.

Vancouver take a bow. The 2025 MLS season finally comes to an end in Miami. The Whitecaps travelled to face-off against Inter Miami in the MLS Cup final and were defeated 3-1 against Messi and co. Despite the loss, the Caps made their city proud.

The scoreline did not reflect the game. Vancouver were unlucky in the first half with an own goal. But throughout the game, they held majority possession, created chances and tested Miami’s defence. All of which resulted in Ali Ahmed’s goal in the 60th minute. Despite Vancouver playing great football, they were missing an x factor.

The Messi effect. Thomas Muller is that x factor for Vancouver but Messi is something else. Despite not scoring in the final, the Argentinian registered two superb assist to unlock the Cap’s defence. Messi was a looming threat at all times, if he’s not scoring, he’s assisting.

What was missing for Vancouver? As stated above, they’re missing the x factor. Do the Caps needs a player like that? Yes and no. It doesn’t hurt to have a player that can change the game on a dime. However, between Miami and Vancouver, the Whitecaps are the most well-rounded team. That’s why they made it this far.

Caps gaffer Jesper Sørensen expressed himself in a post-game conference: “Today we cry, but it is proud tears. The tears have to be proud because we have excited people in Vancouver, we have created something that people want to watch.” The season has ended on a high for Vancouver, they were the best team in Canada, the top team in the Western Conference and has made Vancouver fiercely proud.

This is a special team, this is a strong foundation to build a championship team. Get that stadium situation sorted.

Finals always bring with them plenty of pressure. But there were some added distractions for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the buildup to the 2026 MLS Cup final.

Namely, the off-field story that has been bubbling under the surface all year, eclipsed only by how well the team has been playing on the field: what does the future look like for the team in Vancouver?

The team’s owners said before the season that they were looking to sell the team, with plenty of people worried that could mean relocation. As the team on the field has put in a dominant performance, those concerns kind of went away. But MLS commissioner Don Garber had some strong, pointed—and if you’re a ‘Caps fan— pretty scary words in the lead up to the match, calling the club’s current stadium situation “untenable”. Even scarier, he said that “tough decisions” will have to be made if they cannot come up with a solution.

The team’s BC Place stadium deal with the government is up at the end of the year, and it doesn’t sound like negotiations are going particularly great for 2026 and beyond. Even if they can find a better deal, Garber has made it clear that long-term, the team needs a stadium to call its own.

The timing of this all is convenient. BC Place is a World Cup venue, the Whitecaps have never been more popular and MLS Cup is about as big a platform as Garber can get to turn up the heat on negotiations. Garber has been shown to use these tactics before in past negotiations.

The good news is that the Whitecaps ownership has shown a commitment to fight to keep the team in the city, and the fans and team are only giving them more reason to stay in that fight. Still, it wasn’t exactly a happy week for Whitecaps fans, and this story did not help in the least.

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🍀Wilfried Nancy to Celtic. It’s official, the former CF Montréal and 2023 MLS winning coach has officially signed with Celtic, rejoining Alistair Johnston. Yes, he’s French, but he has been a part of the Montreal soccer scene for over two decades, and we will count him as a Canuck. Unfortunately, Nancy's debut as manager ended in a 2-1 loss against league leaders Hearts. Edinburgh’s Hearts are serious title contenders and are breaking the Rangers-Celtic dichotomy in Scotland.

🏆 Adriana Leon and Kailen Sheridan, World Sevens champions. That’s right. The Wave landed on the top step of the W7F tournament this week, with MVP-worthy performances from the Canadian duo. Dri had not one, but two goals in the final against Tigres while Kailen kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Olivia Smith from downtown. The CanWNT might be lacking goals, but the young star sure is still shining bright. Liv scored a stunner from well beyond the 18 to put Arsenal ahead in an eventual 1-1 draw against her former side Liverpool. And she didn’t celebrate. Respect.

🇪🇸 Tajon Buchanan scored a banger. Villarreal defeated Getafe 2-0 at home, with TJ scoring a screamer outside the box right before half-time. With this goal, the canMNT winger registered his fifth La Liga goal of the season.

🇮🇹 Ismaël Koné scored his second of the season. Sassuolo hosted Fiorentina in Serie A on match day 14. The CanMNT midfielder scored his goal of the season with a calm finish inside the box. The game ended 3-1 for Sassuolo.

🇧🇪 Promise David off the bench, in the goals. Tobi also found the back of the net in an incredible week for Canadian forwards. His goal, making it 2-1 over Zulte Waregem, put USG into the next round of the Belgian Cup.

🇨🇭 Theo Bair scored too. And, the Bair roared in Lausanne, to wrap up an extremely tidy week. Not to be outdone by his CanMNT striker competition, Theo had the opener for Lausanne against Yverdon in the round of 16 of the Swiss Cup, though LS ended dropping a 2-1 extra time result.

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⚜️ David Choinière, Sean Rea and Ballou Tabla to Supra? CPL’s first Quebec club has been rumoured to be seeking these Québecois players: David Choinière, Sean Rea and Ballou Tabla. All of these players are graduates of the CF Montreal academy and have made a name for themselves in the CPL. Former Valour striker Loïc Kwemi has also been listed as one of the first recruits of FC Supra. Kwemi has helped L2 club LaSalle gain promotion into L1.

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👏 AFC Toronto bow out in style at the World Sevens tournament. The Wave weren’t the only team with CanCon to pick up a couple of huge results at the W7F. AFCT’s international debut turned several heads, improving with every match.

🍁 The NSL reps played Liga MX Femenil champions Tigres to a close 3-2 final, forced Flamengo to penalties after regulation ended 2-2, and knocked off NWSL Shield winners Kansas City, 3-2, in their final group stage game. Oh, and yeah, of course it was Hunter and Okoronkwo connecting on AFC’s winner against KC.

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