The Vancouver Whitecaps are set to host Inter Miami CF in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal on April 24.
The B.C. Major League Soccer team earned a place in the match after a 2-2 draw in Mexico City against Liga MX club Pumas UNAM.
Whitecaps fans expressed joy after the team advanced in the tournament that features the top clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with some optimistic that the first leg will see Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi take the pitch at B.C. Place for the first time.
The Argentine star bowed out of Miami's MLS regular season match in Vancouver last year, two days before kickoff.
Whitecaps fan Tony Gabriel says he was among thousands of fans disappointed that Messi failed to suit up for Miami's last scheduled game in Vancouver, but he's hopeful the captain will come this time around, given the stakes.
Whitecaps to face Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal
"I'm 99 per cent sure he's going to come," Gabriel said. "He's going to come. He will play, we will win in Vancouver."
Vancouver-based ticket broker Kingsley Bailey says he's heard from soccer fans who are taking a wait-and-see approach to buying tickets for the April 24 match at B.C. Place given Messi's previous no-show.
"The sentiment to me is, we're not going to go until we actually know he's actually landed, he's in Vancouver, there's sightings," Bailey said.
Following the decision last May to have Messi miss the club's game in Vancouver, then-Miami coach Gerardo (Tata) Martino said the artificial turf at B.C. Place did not play a role in the decision. The Argentine star has said he is willing to play on synthetic playing surfaces.
Peter Schaad, a soccer podcaster and former
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