LAFC have stood between Vancouver Whitecaps’ dreams before, but Thomas Müller has changed everything as they take on Son Heung-min’s Black and Gold in the MLS Cup Western Conference semifinals.
In many ways, the match is more fitting of a final. Over 55,000 fans will flock to BC Place, a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue, and the Whitecaps see it as a chance to slay their proverbial dragon after LAFC eliminated them from the postseason in 2023 and 2024.
“We’re gonna beat them. That’s what I’m thinking about this game,” an adamant Müller told reporters, having become familiar with his club’s gut-wrenching history against LAFC. “I was not there the last few years, so I have no bad memories or anything else. For me, it’s just my first conference semifinal.”
Adding in German to the show: “Wir müssen den Bock umstoßen … [LAFC] is like a, like a very big deer, maybe a goat, and we have to get him out of the way.”
