Vancouver Whitecaps’ unbeaten run cements their place in MLS history | OneFootball

Vancouver Whitecaps are having a rare experience, the kind that has supporters pinching themselves to make sure it is not a dream. Four wins in four MLS 2025 matches have had the team join an exclusive club of only seven teams in league history to start a season with such a record. But if anyone believed that head coach Jesper Sørensen would be drunk on euphoria, they were wrong.

Whitecaps' coach is keeping his feet on the ground, pouring cold water on any runaway enthusiasm. He knows that while the numbers are large, the team's performance still has room to get better. And he is not shy to say so.

A dominant start and a blunt wake-up call

Twelve points from four MLS games would make even the most even-keel coach puff out their chest and predict a magical season. But Sørensen, with the calm of one who has seen much in soccer, chose a more modest reaction.

"Maybe we have a perfect record, but we are definitely not a perfect team," the coach said, suggesting there's still work to be done.

If his prudence seems excessive, the challenges Vancouver has already defied explain him. Besides a spotless league campaign, the team also managed a record entry into the Concacaf Champions Cup, seeing off CF Monterrey on their own ground following a heroic 2-2 draw.

And that's even before factoring in one event that could have sabotaged this good beginning: the absence due to injury of the team skipper and fulcrum, Ryan Gauld.

Gauld's injury and the grit of the team

If there ever was a panicky moment for Whitecaps fans this year, it was when Ryan Gauld went down all by himself during the game with CF Montréal. The team's most important creative force, the midfielder, touched his knee and went down with nobody anywhere near him. That kind of injury is never a nice experience.

The diagnosis was actually more mundane than it sounded: a knee sprain that would keep him out three or four weeks. Even without one of its keystones, Vancouver persevered, let alone flourished.

Qualifying against Monterrey was tangible proof of this team's temperament. The Whitecaps trailed twice and yet somehow came back for the crucial draw. Sørensen did not need to correct a winning mentality in his players after the game, it was heard loud and clear in the players' attitude.

"I think that the team showed they are willing to work hard for each other. They have passion for the team," stated the coach.

Balancing excitement with reality

Four MLS victories, record Concacaf qualification, unbeaten streak still unbroken. The Whitecaps are doing something rare and worth being given credit.

Experience reminds us that soccer has no mercy on those who become too ecstatic too soon. Sørensen has learned that one well.

"When we look back on this in three months, it's really something that we won't think too much about, but it's okay to appreciate these moments. It's good to have them, and also to be proud a little bit as a team that we're doing something out of the ordinary."