Thomas Müller and his friends...
VANCOUVER, BC – The stage is set for an epic showdown at BC Place as the Vancouver Whitecaps FC host Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Semifinal on Saturday, November 22, at 6:30 p.m. PT. The match is officially sold out, with capacity expanded to over 53,000 after the upper bowl was opened—an atmosphere poised to be one of the loudest and most intense in MLS history and arguably the biggest night in Whitecaps franchise history.
I have added images from various games, but none of them show LAFC. Saturday will be the first time that Westcoast German News will be covering a Whitecaps Game against them.
This semifinal reignites a fierce Western Conference rivalry while pitting two global superstars against each other: German legend Thomas Müller, who joined Vancouver in August 2025 after a legendary 25-year career with Bayern Munich, and South Korean icon Son Heung-min, who arrived at LAFC the same week after a decade of brilliance at Tottenham Hotspur. Müller has already made his mark with three goals and four assists in limited action, while Son has dazzled with 12 goals, eight assists, and the 2025 MLS Goal of the Year. Two players with World Cup medals, Champions League titles, and over 1,000 professional appearances combined—now facing off on Canadian soil.
Both teams advanced convincingly, sweeping their best-of-three Round One series. Vancouver opened with a 3-0 home win over FC Dallas (goals from Brian White, Ryan Gauld, and Sebastian Berhalter) before drawing 1-1 in Texas and advancing 4-2 on penalties behind Yohei Takaoka’s heroics. LAFC dispatched Austin FC with a 2-1 home win and a dominant 4-1 road victory, powered by Denis Bouanga’s brace.
The Whitecaps are riding unprecedented fan support in 2025, setting a new single-season home attendance record of 536,298 and surpassing one million total fans across the past two seasons combined. Saturday’s sellout will shatter previous playoff marks and provide a massive home advantage as Vancouver chases its first-ever Western Conference Final appearance.
The rivalry with LAFC has become appointment viewing: this will be the third straight year the clubs meet in the playoffs. Vancouver stunned LAFC 3-0 at BC Place in last year’s postseason and took four points from them in the 2025 regular season (2-2 draw in L.A., 1-0 win at BMO Stadium).
Key Storylines
- Thomas Müller’s first MLS playoff match on North American soil – the 2014 World Cup winner and Raumdeuter extraordinaire will look to add another iconic chapter to his career in front of a raucous Canadian crowd, with Westcoast German News on hand to capture every moment for the German-speaking community across the region.
- Tristan Blackmon, the 2025 MLS Defender of the Year and the first Whitecap to ever win the award, faces his former club after anchoring the league’s best defense following his January trade from LAFC.
- Sebastian Berhalter, named Whitecaps Player of the Year and selected to the 2025 MLS Best XI, has emerged as a dynamic box-to-box force with five goals and seven assists while adding clutch playoff scoring.
- Captain Ryan Gauld, the creative heartbeat of the attack with 14 goals and 12 assists this season, will look to torment LAFC again alongside Müller’s clever movement.
- LAFC assistant coach Marc Dos Santos returns to Vancouver, where he managed the Whitecaps from 2019–2021 and led them to the 2020 MLS is Back title.
With everything on the line—history, pride, and a spot in the Western Conference Final—Saturday night at a sold-out BC Place promises playoff drama for the ages.For tickets, broadcast info, and more: whitecapsfc.com.
TAGS: #MüllerVsSon #WhitecapsFC #LAFC #MLSCupPlayoffs #BCPlace #VancouverWhitecaps #WestcoastGermanNews #ElkePorter
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