The San Jose Earthquakes are coming off a scoreless draw against the defending MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders FC on Friday and are now setting their sights on another Pacific Northwest club: Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Vancouver is currently 1-1-0 on the young season, falling 3-1 at home to Sporting Kansas City before earning a 1-0 win on the road against the LA Galaxy. They are coming off a 2019 season in which they were the second worst team in MLS with an 8-16-10 record.
But the beautiful thing about Major League Soccer is that you have an opportunity to rebuild and rebound every year, and Vancouver made several major moves in the offseason to combat their rough 2019 campaign. Among those acquisitions are forward Lucas Cavallini from Mexico’s Puebla and midfielder David Milinkovic from England’s Hull City. Cavallini, a Canadian international, was the subject of a club-record transfer fee in January.
Fortunately for San Jose, Vancouver will be without several of its big hitters up front, including Cavallini, Fredy Montero and Tosaint Ricketts, who have all opted out of the competition. Montero is a longtime MLS attacker with 68 goals to his credit, eight of which came in 2019.
One of the biggest factors that will play a role in Wednesday’s match is the concept of rest vs. rust. The Earthquakes will only be on five days rest from their exhaustive last match vs. Seattle, while Vancouver will have fresh legs as this is their first match of the tournament. The other side of the coin, however, suggests that San Jose have now played a full 90 minutes and shaken off much of the dust that comes along with three months away from the field. Vancouver have had no such prior opportunity.
“For me, it’s an advantage for us,” said midfielder Magnus Eriksson on Wednesday. “First off, we’ve been here the longest, longer than anyone else. We have been here almost three weeks. We’ve played one game. We know what the conditions are.
“I think it’s an advantage for us but we still have to go out and do our best.”
The Quakes tout themselves as one of the most fit teams in the league, with a rigorous preseason regimen and a strength and conditioning staff that pushes players to their limits. Wednesday’s match will be a great look into the team’s fitness as well as depth.
Defender Oswaldo Alanis departed Friday’s match after 63 minutes, which head coach Matias Almeyda later cited due to cramping. This, of course, is not unusual in hot and humid climates. The Earthquakes are largely healthy and fit ahead of the contest.
Vancouver’s key players to watch out for are Iraqi defender Ali Adnan, Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, and South Korean midfielder Hwang Inbeom. The club has a host of established MLS players that will certainly look to take advantage of the opportunity with several starters unavailable.
Wednesday’s match, presented by CEFCU, kicks off at 6 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on TUDN/Twitter, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
