Vancouver Whitecaps 2026 Season Preview | OneFootball

This article was written after recording The Designated Pundits‘ Vancouver Whitecaps preview for the 2026 MLS Season with guest sports broadcaster Gideon Hill. You can find that video on Spotify below.

2025 Recap

The Vancouver Whitecaps had a great season, finishing second in the Western Conference. They were both offensively and defensively exceptional, finishing 1st in the West in both categories.

Their 2025 season was defined by low expectation during a possible team sale, star forward Ryan Gauld missing most of the season, and the improbable signing of Thomas Müller. Müller was scouted by other teams, but Vancouver purchased his rights and brought him in as one of the highest profile players in team history.

Despite some difficulties, the team performed particularly well over the first 2/3 of the season. There were 20 total goal scorers, led by Brian White with 16 goals and 1 assist.

Transactions

The Whitecaps are mostly finished with team building for 2026; bringing in Thomas Müller at the end of last year and the return of Ryan Gauld from injury are already significant additions.

They did send Ali Ahmed to Norwich, Jayden Nelson to Austin FC, and Daniel Rios saw his loan expire.

They brought in two homegrown players and an interesting young midfielder Oliver Larraz with some upside. Larraz is a 24 year old with 72 appearances for the Colorado Rapids.

2026 Depth Chart

The Whitecaps have some depth chart issues (the good kind) pertaining to the backline. They have four outside backs who would start most other MLS teams. All 4 fullbacks are capable on both sides, and finding the right pair could leave head coach Jesper Sørensen with a headache.

We think Vancouver will play a 4-2-3-1, although with Ryan Gauld back, but with Gauld not profiling as a pure winger, there could be some further changes. Gauld and Müller would share duties as 10s in a 4-2-2-2, or up top next to Brian White in most formations.

The midfield pairing of Berhalter and Cubas was one of the best tandems in MLS. I think it is safe to say these two stay put- any formation or tactical changes would have to account for them maintaining the same midfield shape.

Questions

We finished the podcast episode with some questions and answers. I will summarize them here the best I can, but please listen to the direct quotes from Gideon on this podcast episode.

Hear more, and follow along as I preview all 30 MLS teams before kickoff of the 2026 season!

YouTube- http://youtube.com/@thedesignatedpundits

Audio Links- linktr.ee/thedesignatedpundits