The Whitecaps continue to slip up.

Last night, the Vancouver Whitecaps hosted Liga MX side Atlante FC at BC Place Stadium in the final game of yesterday's opening day of the 2026 Leagues Cup.

Jesper Sørensen made seven changes to the eleven that managed a 1-1 draw against LAFC on Saturday, as Isaac Boehmer, Sam Adekugbe, Ralph Priso, Cheikh Sabaly, J.C. Ngando, Nikola Djordjevic, and Rayan Elloumi all entered for Yohei Takaoka, Tate Johnson, Tristan Blackmon, Ryan Gauld, Thomas Müller, Jeevan Badwal, and Brian White. With the allocated number of substitutes increased for Leagues Cup, Adrían Zendejas, Micaah Garnette, and Johnny Selemani were added to the matchday squad, with the latter two signing MLS Short-Term Agreements along with Trevor Wright, who was an unused substitute on Saturday. Andrés Cubas was given the captain's armband for this one.

The game started, and it was nearly disaster for Vancouver, as a knee-to-knee collision between Jhojan Julio and Édier Ocampo left the latter in some discomfort. Still, it would prove to be nothing more than a scare, as Ocampo later returned to the field and continued.

The game was dull throughout the opening minutes, as a wild shot from distance by Cheikh Sabaly in the 12th minute was the game's first shot.

It would continue to be tight until the 24th minute, as after a giveaway from Oliver Larraz, Jhojan Julio slipped Luis Puente through on goal, but Isaac Boehmer was up to the task and made the save, as Ralph Priso also helped by pressuring Puente as he barreled down on goal.

Atlante would break through in the 40th minute, as Jhojan Julio brilliantly controlled a clearance from Édier Ocampo. After bodying Mathías Laborda, he took a shot before striking a beautiful hit that clipped the post and went in, giving Isaac Boehmer no chance.

Three minutes later, the Whitecaps would have a chance, as J.C. Ngando's ball found Rayan Elloumi in acres of space, but his shot was curled right into the hands of veteran goalkeeper Óscar Jiménez.

That was it after four additional minutes of stoppage time, as it was a dull half that had one moment of brilliance.

The second half began with a triple change for Jesper Sørensen, as he brought on Tristan Blackmon, Tate Johnson, and Emmanuel Sabbi for Ralph Priso, Sam Adekugbe, and Cheikh Sabaly.

Sabbi would immediately get into the action, as after he couldn't get a clean strike from Andrés Cubas' beautiful pass, he had Vancouver's best chance of the night from close range, but Óscar Jiménez made the save with his feet to deny the American winger.

Just after the hour mark, Atlante would nearly double their advantage, as some nice play between Luis Puente and Jhojan Julio nearly resulted in a brace for the Ecuadorian, as a crucial touch from Mathías Laborda forced it out for a corner.

Soon after, Thomas Müller made his Leagues Cup debut, replacing J.C. Ngando after a decent performance from the SuperDraft pick.

The Whitecaps nearly got an answer off a set piece, as a diving header from Mathías Laborda met an Oliver Larraz corner, but he couldn't redirect the ball on frame, as it went wide.

Vancouver probably should've gone down 2-0 after a giveaway from Mathías Laborda perfectly teed up Jhojan Julio, but his first-time hit agonizingly missed the target.

As the 'Caps grew desperate for an equalizer, Jesper Sørensen took off Nikola Djordjevic for the club's second all-time top scorer, Brian White.

The main issue with Vancouver was the lack of big chances, as apart from Emmanuel Sabbi's glorious chance and Rayan Elloumi's first-half chance, Vancouver really only created half-chances against the low block of Atlante.

The game's only yellow card came in the 89th minute, as José González was booked for taking out Mathías Laborda.

Despite five minutes added on at the end, Vancouver still couldn't create a huge opportunity, as Ekaterina Koroleva blew her whistle to end the game.

With that result, it looks unlikely that the Whitecaps will qualify as a top-four side and advance into the quarterfinals, as they will need most of the MLS sides to lose while the 'Caps need to win in regulation time in their next two games, which includes the final game against Tigres UANL in Mexico.

The focus shifts to Friday's match, as they host FC Juárez at BC Place Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.