Inter Miami vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: 10 stats that will decide MLS Cup | OneFootball

By Joseph Lowery

Grab your popcorn, folks.

We’ve got an all-time MLS Cup presented by Audi matchup on Saturday, when Inter Miami CF host Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV; FOX, FOX Deportes; TSN, RDS).

Miami have hit their stride in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, winning a game by four goals in each round so far. But Vancouver bested Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals earlier this year… and have since added Thomas Müller to their squad.

To help get prepared for Saturday’s final, let’s spotlight 10 key statistics that will tell the story of MLS Cup 2025.

1. Inter Miami: 2.02 xG per game

It shouldn’t surprise you, but no team in MLS this season put up better attacking numbers than Inter Miami.

At 2.02 expected goals per game, they’ve regularly dominated opposing defenses and created high-quality scoring chances. Along the way, they became the first team since LAFC (2019) to cross the 2.0 xG-per-game threshold in an entire regular season, as per FBref.

By the way: That's resulted in Miami scoring 98 combined regular-season and playoffs goals in 2025, the most in a single MLS campaign.

Even with head coach Javier Mascherano’s bold decision to keep Luis Suárez on the bench following his Round One Game 3 suspension vs. Nashville, this team’s attack hasn’t dropped off. They scored nine goals in wins over FC Cincinnati and New York City FC in their respective Eastern Conference Semifinal and Final clashes.

With a certain Argentine leading the way, Inter Miami are nearly impossible to stop.

2. Lionel Messi: 61 goals + assists

Speaking of that Argentine, Lionel Messi is currently enjoying the best single season of any player in MLS history.

He has 61 goals and assists across the season, far surpassing the 52 LAFC legend Carlos Vela tallied in his 2019 Landon Donovan MLS MVP-winning campaign. Messi produced 29g/19a in the regular season, earning him the Golden Boot presented by Audi, and has a playoff-record 13 goal contributions (6g/7a) thus far.

Looking ahead to Saturday, there’s every chance that Messi’s stat line is the one that matters most. He can take over a game in an instant, as he’s proven over and over again in 2025 (and, well, for his entire career).

3. Thomas Müller: 13 goals + assists

Messi, of course, isn’t the only big-time attacker slated to suit up in this weekend’s finale. Müller has been lights-out for Vancouver since he arrived in the summer, bagging 9g/4a in less than 1,000 minutes for the ‘Caps. He’s good for a goal contribution every game on average.

Unlike Inter Miami’s setup, which flows around Messi, the Bayern Munich legend functions as part of an extremely cohesive attacking structure in Vancouver. Plenty flows through Müller in the left half-space, but Jesper Sørensen gives his team license to explore other areas of the pitch, too. That balance makes the Whitecaps so dangerous – they can beat you with Müller, or they can use Müller’s threat to create space elsewhere on the field.

One thing is certain, though: the German superstar has made them even more dangerous.

4. Vancouver Whitecaps: 77th percentile or better in every phase

Simply put, the Whitecaps are good at everything.

Under Sørensen, who finished second in the 2025 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year voting, this team has gone an entire season without developing a major weakness.

Don’t believe me? I’ll let the numbers do the talking. According to American Soccer Analysis, the Whitecaps rank in the 77th percentile or better in MLS for xG differential in every phase: sustained possession sequences, transitions and set pieces.

There isn’t an MLS team that’s played more well-rounded ball than Sørensen’s Vancouver squad this year.

5. Inter Miami: 1.0 (or less) xG allowed in four of five games

From the moment Messi and his former FC Barcelona teammates arrived in MLS, Inter Miami became an elite attacking outfit. The defensive side of the game… that took longer to arrive.

But we’ve seen it all come together during this playoff run. For the first time since Messi signed in the summer of 2023, Miami have allowed 1.0 xG or less in four of their last five games.

They’re dialed in during this postseason, showing genuine commitment in the press and far more attentive transition defending than we’re used to seeing from them. The Herons look like a well-rounded outfit heading into MLS Cup, which should worry Vancouver.

6. Vancouver Whitecaps: 17 players with more than 1,000 regular-season minutes

It’s been talked about plenty this year, and yet it somehow still hasn’t been talked about enough: the Whitecaps have been banged up all season long and still reached MLS Cup. Between Ryan Gauld missing basically the entire year to injury (though he’ll be healthy enough to play a role on Saturday), a devastated center back room, and several other setbacks, the ‘Caps haven’t been at full strength since the season began.

Doesn't matter.

Vancouver's depth pieces have stepped up and become something much more than depth pieces in the process. Seventeen (17!) Whitecaps players notched at least 1,000 minutes in the regular season, two more than Miami. This team is one of the deepest in league history.

7. Tadeo Allende: 3 straight games with at least 1.0 xG

Messi is Inter Miami’s undisputed star, but Tadeo Allende has shone exceedingly bright in this year’s postseason – and quietly has 23 goals (all competitions) for the Herons this year, second only to Messi.

Benefitting from his countryman’s distribution, the right winger has scored eight goals in this year's playoffs, matching the league record for goals scored in a single postseason set by Carlos Ruiz back in 2002.

With at least 1.0 xG in three straight games for the Herons, Allende has tormented three different teams with his clever off-ball movement down the outside. Will Saturday’s game see the Whitecaps added to that list?

8. Vancouver Whitecaps: 99 tackles in the attacking third

When you watch Vancouver play, perhaps one of their most impressive attributes is an ability to smother the opposition high up the field. That’s exactly how the Whitecaps advanced past the league’s best buildup team in the Western Conference Final: San Diego FC looked shocked at times against an aggressive, clever defensive outfit.

With more tackles (99) in the attacking third than any other team in the regular season, the ‘Caps have a clear ability to control the game far from their own goal. Up against another buildup-heavy team in Inter Miami, their range and ground coverage could serve the visitors well.

9. Rocco Ríos Novo: 2.6 more goals saved than expected

Inter Miami’s defensive improvement has featured far better showings between the boxes, as well as upgraded goalkeeper play from Rocco Ríos Novo.

After securing the starting spot in the fall, the 23-year-old hasn’t let go, posting far better performances than Óscar Ustari. With 2.6 more goals saved than expected across regular season and postseason play, Ríos Novo has been a breath of fresh air relative to Ustari’s 4.2 goals allowed more than expected, as per FBref.

Of course, Ríos Novo isn’t a perfect player: he conceded a penalty in Miami’s loss to Nashville earlier in the playoffs. But he’s been a clear improvement on the margins, which is exactly where an MLS Cup can be decided.

10. Vancouver Whitecaps: 0.42 xG on set pieces

No playoff team posted better numbers on set pieces than Vancouver this season.

According to American Soccer Analysis, the ‘Caps have averaged 0.42 xG per game on set pieces across the regular season and postseason, giving them the edge over Inter Miami’s 0.24 xG. They also have the advantage in the pure goals scored category, posting 0.45 goals per game on set pieces compared to Miami’s 0.23.

With Sebastian Berhalter’s elite service and effective box-crashers, the Whitecaps have been incredibly difficult to stop on dead balls.

Vancouver Whitecaps: From heartbreak to MLS Cup