Whitecaps beat Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 2-0 in 1st leg of CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal

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Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi watches the ball during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, front left, shoots against Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka, front right, during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Ali Ahmed, left, pursues Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi with Whitecaps’ Pedro Vite, right, during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Emmanuel Sabbi, left, tries to block a free kick by Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, not shown, with teammatesduring the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, right, is pursued by Vancouver Whitecaps’ Andres Cubas, left, during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Emmanuel Sabbi, right, goes for a header against Inter Miami during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Emmanuel Sabbi, top, jumps over Inter Miami’s Maximiliano Falcon during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Emmanuel Sabbi, top, kicks the ball past Inter Miami’s Maximiliano Falcon during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Inter Miami’s Maximiliano Falcon, left, kicks the ball in front of Vancouver Whitecaps’ Brian White during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Inter Miami’s Marcelo Weigandt, bottom, falls after getting tackled by Vancouver Whitecaps’ Sebastian Berhalter, right, and Andres Cubas during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Emmanuel Sabbi, center, is tackled by Inter Miami’s Noah Allen, right, and Yannick Bright, left, during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christopher Morris/The Canadian Press via AP)

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Brian White and Sebastain Berhalter scored and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 2-0 on Thursday night in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal.

The second leg is Wednesday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The series winner will advance to the final against either Cruz Azul or Tigres UNAL on June 1.

Many in the record crowd of 53,837 at BC Place Stadium came to watch Messi. They weren’t disappointed when the Argentine superstar started the game and played the entire match. Joining him in the star-studded kickoff was Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, forward Luis Suarez of Uruguay and defender Jordi Alba from Spain.

Despite Miami’s star power, it was White who produced one of the loudest roars from the crowd when he headed a pass from Pedro Vite past goalkeeper Oscar Ustari in the 25th minute. Berhalter made it 2-0 in the 84th.

___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer