The second leg between CF Montréal and the Vancouver Whitecaps will kick off at Stade Saputo on Wednesday night, with a spot in the 2026 Canadian Championship final against Forge on the line.

Here's everything you need to know heading into the game.

How CF Montréal enters this match

For Philippe Eullaffroy's side, it's been a tough time since the first leg; they've lost their last three straight games, including a 1-0 loss against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.

These results have put Montréal back at the bottom of the Eastern Conference heading into this second leg with almost nothing to lose, which makes this matchup even more intriguing.

How the Vancouver Whitecaps enter this match

For Jesper Sørensen's side, it's been a rollercoaster in terms of results: after losing to St. Louis City by a 3-1 scoreline right after the first leg, they grabbed a big 3-0 midweek win against the LA Galaxy before falling short on Sunday against Austin FC, who grabbed a 2-1 win.

Despite the mixed bag of results, Vancouver remain at the top of the Western Conference heading into this second leg, probably expecting to win this game and eventually a fifth straight Canadian Championship. Still, after the first leg, it won't be that easy.

How the first leg went

It was an interesting first leg between these two sides. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after Dani Pereira's stunner was cancelled out by Ryan Gauld's tap-in.

With no away-goal rule in this year's edition, this tie is essentially at 0-0, with the sides needing to win on the night to advance, which makes it pretty simple for the viewers.

The winner of this game will also host the 2026 Canadian Championship final on October 21 against Forge FC.

Head-to-head

The last meeting between these two sides at Stade Saputo was all the way back in 2024, when Brian White and Matías Cóccaro traded goals in a 1-1 draw.

Montréal hold the series lead in the 81 games between them, recording 33 wins and 19 draws, while the visiting Vancouver have been catching up in recent years but stand at 29 wins.

Players to watch

Montréal will be looking towards marquee signing Alexis Sánchez to produce his first big moment with the club in this semifinal. So far, the Chilean has drawn blanks in his first seven games for the club, but he has only started two of those games, and he is also 37-years-old. Sánchez thought he got his moment in the first leg after finding the back of the net, but the linesman ruled Prince Owusu offside in a very tight decision. Nonetheless, tomorrow is a big opportunity for the veteran, and if Sánchez can produce one big moment of magic, the inconsistent Whitecaps defence could be in for a long night.

Vancouver have their own marquee signing that has made a huge impact in the past year for the club, and that's newly turned 37-year-old German legend, Thomas Müller. In 2026, Müller has been enjoying a nice season with the club, recording eight goals and five assists in 29 games, and of course the statistics can't truly measure Müller, whose elite positioning and passing range have helped Vancouver maintain the high standards set last season. After sitting out Sunday's game due to a dead leg injury, Müller is ready for tomorrow's game, and he will likely play a decent chunk of minutes, so can he be the reason Vancouver heads to its fifth straight Canadian Championship Final?

Projected XIs

TrueNorthFoot projects the following line-ups for each side.

CF Montréal (4-3-3): Sebastián Breza; Luca Petrasso, Brandan Braig, Jalen Neal, Brayan Ceballos; Victor Loturi, Samuel Piette (c), Fabian Herbers; Alexis Sánchez, Prince Owusu, Dante Sealy

Vancouver Whitecaps (4-2-3-1): Isaac Boehmer; Sam Adekugbe, Tristan Blackmon, Mathías Laborda, Édier Ocampo; Andrés Cubas, Jeevan Badwal; Emmanuel Sabbi, Thomas Müller (c), Yadaly Diaby; Brian White

Game information and how to watch

📆 Wednesday, September 16, 2026
⏰ 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT
📺 OneSoccer, TSN, RDS
🧑‍⚖️ Filip Dujic
🏟 Stade Saputo, Montréal, Canada