VANCOUVER WHITECAPS vs. CENTRAL FC
BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia
Sept. 28, 2016, 10 pm ET (CONCACAF Champions League)
The Vancouver Whitecaps will aim to finish their second CONCACAF Champions League group stage in perfect form when they host Central FC in their Group C finale on Wednesday. But the result will not impact the overall group standings, as the Whitecaps have advanced to the knockout stage, rendering this game and the actual Group C finale, Oct. 19 between Sporting KC and Central FC, dead rubber matches.
Still, every game will play a role in the teams' seasons, and there are still several storylines for this encounter.
Still motivation to get a result for the 'Caps
Vancouver may be sitting pretty as far as reaching the CCL knockout round for the first time ever, but there are still stakes for them in this game. History has shown that knockout round seeding plays a massive part in MLS teams' chances of advancement when the knockout rounds actually roll around. While the Whitecaps are already guaranteed qualification to move on, and currently have three wins out of three, if they finish with a No. 7 or No. 8 seed, their road to reach the semifinals becomes considerably harder. So they will aim to pick up more points — a maximum record to close out their group stage campaign will put them in very good stead for a top four seed, and maybe even better than that.
Seeing Kenwyne in action again
This game will also be a good opportunity for Central FC forward Kenwyne Jones. The Trinidad & Tobago international is on loan at Central from incoming MLS expansion team Atlanta United, and he'll be in MLS come 2017. So this game will give him another chance to play MLS opposition and get used to the travel demands of heading up to Vancouver, while the Whitecaps (and the rest of MLS) will get more minutes to watch him in action against MLS opposition.
More of the Davies Express?
Alphonso Davies has already had a pretty terrific first professional season — he is just 15 years old, after all. After scoring the clinching goal in the Whitecaps' last CCL game and getting his first MLS start over the weekend, he could be back on the field against Central. Clearly, we're at the very beginning of what looks like it could be a very promising career, but the kid is already putting on a show and you should grab a view if you can.
