✍️ Baltej Bining

Hello Vancouver, and welcome back to our weekly column! The World Cup continues to snatch North America's attention, with the people of Vancouver witnessing Canada's first-ever World Cup win, a 6-0 scoreline over Qatar.

During all this action, a couple of our Vancouver sides were in action, while the other two had some rest.

This is Vancouver Weekly!

Vancouver Whitecaps

The Whitecaps continue their break but had plenty of news to report, the first being that their international players are continuing their World Cup journeys.

The United States confirmed their spot in the knockout rounds as the best team in Group D after defeating Australia 2-0 in Seattle. Vancouver's Sebastian Berhalter went 14 minutes in, securing the USA's win, as they will take on Türkiye on Thursday at 7:00 pm PT in Los Angeles.

Paraguay grabbed a massive win to give themselves a chance to advance into the next round, defeating Türkiye by a 1-0 scoreline, as Andrés Cubas played the full 90 for the Albiroja. Cubas had an outstanding defensive performance with twelve defensive contributions, including seven clearances, six recoveries, and three interceptions. He also played an important part in Matías Galarza's goal, with the midfielder playing the ball to Julio Enciso before he flicked it on to the goalscorer. They will play against Australia at the same time as the United States in San Francisco, with a win securing second place in the group.

The same cannot be said for Rayan Elloumi's Tunisia, as the Eagles of Carthage were defeated by Japan in a 4-0 scoreline, thus confirming their elimination in the group stages. Elloumi was once again an unused substitute, as he continues to wait for his World Cup debut. Tunisia will be in action on Thursday to close out their campaign against the Netherlands in Kansas City, with kickoff set for 4:00 pm PT.

In some more club-centred news, the Whitecaps returned to training in the past week, with the likes of Sam Adekugbe and Ryan Gauld inching towards a return. Emmanuel Sabbi and Belal Halbouni continue to recover from their operations.

Joedrick Pupe will become a Vancouver Whitecap once again next week on Tuesday, with his six-month loan spell at Sint-Truidense set to end, but the Belgian side holds a purchase option and is interested in a permanent deal.

The Vancouver Whitecaps return to action in two and a half weeks from now, as they host Cavalry FC at Swangard Stadium on Wednesday, July 8 at 7:30 pm PT.

Vancouver FC

Martin Nash's side have nothing to report on, as the Canadian Premier League observed a week-and-a-half break for the FIFA World Cup.

Currently sitting in sixth place with a 3-2-5 record, Vancouver FC will travel to Ontario to take on Forge FC on Canada Day at the Hamilton Stadium, with kickoff set for an early 10:00 am PT / 1:00 pm ET.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2

The suffering has ended for Rich Fagan's side!

After suffering nine matches without a regulation win, WFC2 hosted San Jose Earthquakes II at Swangard Stadium, a side that previously defeated this WFC2 side by a 6-1 scoreline.

After Jacob Heisner scored in the opening two minutes, WFC2 found a response just four minutes later, as a stunning first professional goal from Carson Rassak levelled the game up.

Right after the restart, Daniel Ittycheria got in behind the San Jose defence and buried it past Connor Lambe to give WFC2 their first lead since May 3, when Ittycheria himself gave the 'Caps a 1-0 lead over LAFC2, a game where they lost by a 2-1 score.

Unfortunately, the lead wouldn't last long following an own goal from Trevor Wright just six minutes after they took the lead.

After a back-and-forth battle, the game-winning goal came from Yuma Tsuji in the fourth of five additional minutes, as the young midfielder finished off a nice counter-attack move following a pass from Carson Rassak.

It's a first win in over two months for the club, as now they must build that momentum and push for an unlikely playoff spot.

In some injury news, winger Yeider Zuluaga has been sidelined with a hamstring strain, as he had played some games through the injury, but has decided to sit out some games to properly heal. He will be back in around a couple of weeks.

WFC2 will return to action on Saturday, as they take a trip to the state of Colorado, where they will face Colorado Rapids 2 in Denver. Kickoff is set for 5:00 pm PT / 6:00 pm MT.

Vancouver Rise

So close, yet so far.

The Vancouver Rise were in action on Thursday morning, as they took on the Halifax Tides during a school-themed match. Kickoff was set for a brutal 7:00 am PT.

Anaïs Oularbi grabbed her first goal for the club, and it looked to be the winner until Julianne Vallerand's 89th-minute goal secured a 1-1 draw in Halifax.

They played well, but it's an unfortunate draw for the Rise, as it feels like two points lost rather than a point gained.

Anja Heiner-Møller's side will return to action on Sunday, taking on AFC Toronto at Swangard Stadium for the third time this season, with kickoff scheduled at 3:30 pm PT.

That's everything, as the Canadian Men's National Team returns to action on Wednesday in Vancouver, taking on Switzerland in a group decider, with kickoff set for 12:00 pm PT at BC Place Stadium, as the same two sides that previously played last week will return to action this week as well.