Deportivo Saprissa and Vancouver Whitecaps close out week three of the Champions Cup | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup continues on Thursday with the final first leg encounter of Round One.

Three-time champions Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica will meet Canadian Championship winners Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The two clubs will meet for the first time ever in any competition.

Deportivo Saprissa vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Deportivo Saprissa hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San Juan de Tibás, Costa Rica.

Deportivo Saprissa will participate in the Concacaf Champions Cup for the 38th time. The Costa Rican club won the 1993, 1995, and 2005 editions and secured its spot in the 2025 tournament by winning its Play-in series against Comunicaciones FC, with a 4-2 aggregate score.

The only time Deportivo Saprissa faced a Canadian opponent in the Concacaf Champions Cup,

they drew 2-2 against CF Montreal in the Round of 16 of the 2020 edition at home. The return match ended in a 0-0 draw on February 26, 2020, at the Olympic Stadium in Montréal, seeing the Canadian club through on away goals.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC will make its third consecutive appearance and its fifth overall by winning the 2024 Canadian Championship. The club’s best result came in the 2016/17 edition when it reached the semifinals.

Vancouver Whitecaps have faced Central American clubs four times, winning two times and losing two. The last time Vancouver Whitecaps faced a Central American club was against Real España of Honduras in the return leg of the Round of 16 of the 2023 edition at Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula. The Whitecaps advanced to the quarterfinals after winning 5-0 in the first leg, winning the series with an aggregate score of 7-3.