Building blocks on display for Vancouver FC after Wanderers’ wonder strike sees them start 2026 CPL season with a loss

Vancouver FC may have gone down to a 1-0 loss in their 2026 Canadian Premier League season opener on Saturday, but there were positive signs for Head Coach Martin Nash to take from their performance as they prepare to face off against Forge FC in Langley this coming Sunday. Vancouver were the better team for much of the match, showed some good flashes at both ends of the park, and were only denied at least a point by a very early Goal of the Season contender, some big saves from Marco Carducci in the Halifax goal, and the width of the crossbar in the dying moments.

Going into their CPL opener, there was good momentum for Vancouver: their 2025 run to the Voyageurs Cup final for the Canadian Championship, the subsequent CONCACAF Champions Cup matches versus the confederation’s top-rated side in Cruz Azul (especially their performance in the first leg), having Nash in charge for his first pre-season, and a significantly overhauled squad; all had given a sense of hope and optimism to the Eagle faithful. This was reflected in the announced crowd of 3,528 at Willoughby Community Park as Vancouver took on HFX Wanderers.

The Nova Scotia club have themselves been buoyed by the arrival of Vanni Sartini as their new Head Coach and General Manager. The charismatic former Vancouver Whitecaps coach chose to stay in Canada and continue to be a part of growing the game in this country when he signed on for his new club this past December. He has brought with him some players with Whitecaps ties and is working to build the Halifax side into one that wins trophies and there were a number in attendance just to witness Sartini’s return to the lower mainland.

Both teams were desperate to get their campaign off to a good start and make a run at the top half of the table, which would mean qualifying for the playoffs in the new format for 2026 that sees just the top four move into the postseason, one less than the past couple of seasons.

In addition to getting positive results, playing quality football to help build the fanbase for VFC is quite important. Unfortunately for Nash, he would be limited with his team selections. Club captain and stalwart Callum Irving suffered an injury approximately two and a half weeks before the match, which ruled him out of the squad. A week before the game, during the last friendly of the pre-season, Kian Proctor got hurt while pushing for a place on the left side of the defence and a few days prior to the match, new centre back signing Isak Ssewankambo also went down injured. In addition, a key piece to the attacking group, Frenchman Lys Mousset, is not yet match fit. The former Bournemouth and Sheffield United striker, came to Vancouver hoping to rejuvenate his career, which hasn’t hit the heights he would have hoped for since a ruptured Achilles tendon in May 2023. All of that meant that Nash relied on a lot of the same players he did during the two legs vs. Cruz Azul.

Nash went with a flexible 4-2-3-1. Matheus de Souza got the nod in goal to replace Irving. The 20-year-old came through the Whitecaps youth set up and last year back stopped Langley United to the League1 BC title. He performed well in pre-season, including claiming three clean sheets in their final trio of friendlies. The back four in front of him saw Paris Gee on the left. The veteran defender is probably the player most accustomed to having Nash as a coach as the pair spent a couple of seasons together at Inter Toronto FC (when they were named York United). In the centre of defence were Tom Field and Matteo Campagna. The former is the only new signing that has come directly from another CPL club and can play CB or LB. The latter is one of the encouraging young players who has really grown in his time at the club. Right back also saw a new face. In this case it was former CPL player Morey Doner, who more recently spent time with a triumvirate of clubs in the USL down south.

The double pivot in the middle saw new duo Marcelo Polisi and Damiano Pecile, two former Whitecaps academy standouts, given the roles of winning the ball back and distributing it to those further up field. Experienced Uruguayan Nicolás Mezquida, wearing the captain’s armband, was at the heart of the attacking three. He was flanked by the dynamic Thierno Bah on the left and Kiwi Luis Toomey on the right. As in the CCC, the centre forward position was occupied by Burundi international Mo Amissi. He is more naturally a winger, but his quickness and pressing ability is something Nash seems to value in that role compared to his other options at the moment.

Sartini seems to be taking a similar approach to his time in MLS. He wants a smaller squad but one in which he can rely on a larger amount (18 or 19 players) to be regular starters. He isn’t quite the “Tinkerman” that fellow Italian Claudio Ranieri was, but he doesn’t like to keep the same starting XI in consecutive matches. Standouts in his opening lineup were Marco Carducci. The ‘keeper left behind his hometown club Cavalry for a new opportunity in the Maritimes. Carducci, another Whitecaps academy product, has spoken of needing a change and excitement for the chance to work with Sartini (who once tried to bring him to the ‘Caps).

In front of him was captain Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, who has had some classic battles with the Eagles when he played for archrivals Pacific. Lorenzo Callegari was in the middle of the park to marshal the side and up top was Whitecaps 2 loanee Cyprian Kachwele. The 6’3” striker from Tanzania had seven goals and two assists in 18 matches in MLS Next Pro in 2025 and will be looking to improve on that in the CPL.

Perhaps the most important player, from a tactical perspective, was former Canadian men’s national team player Marcus Godinho. He played under Sartini with the ‘Caps for a season and half before spending a few years in Europe (mostly in Poland). Godinho started the match at left wingback in a 3-5-2. That was the formation they attacked out of, however, when they lost possession, they quickly transitioned into a 4-4-2 with Godinho sliding back and providing defensive cover.

Following the Fraser Valley Fanatics tifo of the towering torso of Irving holding their “Forza Eagles” scarf above his head (more on this another time) and the anthem, the match got underway. It was a bit of a cagey affair with both sides slow to find their rhythm and way into the game. In one sense it had the feel of an extension of the pre-season. The visitors really created nothing of note. The hosts were at their most threatening with Bah attacking down the left wing. On a couple of occasions, he beat defender Jefferson Alphonse. On the first (35th minute) he cut it back short and the second (42nd minute) he crossed it to the back post. Both led to respectable chances that were blocked or broken up by Carducci.

With the first half being so uneventful, there was still a sense in the stadium that the second half could hold the first Eagles goal of 2026. Eleven minutes after the interval, it looked like the breakthrough would finally come. Mezquida made a run from his own half right through the centre of the field, before playing in Amissi with a pass that led him to the inside right channel. He tried to shoot back across goal, low to the far post, but Carducci’s outstretched right leg made the save of the day. Three minutes later Amissi saw his powerful header barely go over the bar from a good cross from Morey.

Ten minutes later, both coaches rolled the dice and made alterations to try and bring the fixture to life. Terran Campbell, who is the third all-time leading scorer in CPL history, replaced Toomey, which saw Amissi go to the left wing and Bah switched to the right. For Halifax, Ryan Telfer, scorer of the first ever CPL goal, took over from Isaiah Johnston and Miguel Arilla came on in place of Francesco Triosi.

After the match Sartini spoke of how at the half he told his side to be braver in getting behind Vancouver and opening space. Telfer really helped with that. He also won a somewhat soft freekick that would turn out to be decisive in the over story of the game.

Callegari stepped up to hit a 30+ yard free kick with some incredible technique, with the opened inside of his right foot, that saw the ball bend away and dipped into the upper right corner of the net. De Souza had no chance. It is one of the best free kick goals in League history.

Jed Davies is one of Sartini’s assistant coaches. He posted on X an angle of the goal from behind. If you have seen it, check it out.

Vancouver pushed hard for an equalizer and had chances to draw level. Amissi and Pecile drew a couple of quality saves from Carducci in the 72nd and 73rd minutes and Amissi probably should have decided to pass to an open Campbell instead of taking the shot. The closest Vancouver came was four minutes into second half stoppage time when Campbell hit the crossbar with an acrobatic kick. Shortly thereafter the play was whistled dead for offside.

Vancouver’s first match of the season was to end in defeat, but there was certainly some solace there for Nash and his team. They outperformed their opponents in virtually every category. In Expected Goals, Vancouver had 1.87, while Halifax only had 0.21. However, there is only one stat that matters, and that is actual goals. In that category, the hosts came away with nothing. The performance is something they will hope to build on as they host top of the table Forge FC on Sunday afternoon back at Willoughby.