World champion chasing the title
Will there be a duel with the biggest star?
October 27, 2025 – 4:12 p.mReading time: 4 minutes
The dream of winning the MLS championship lives on for Thomas Müller. In just a few weeks he could achieve something historic with the Whitecaps.
The start of the Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs could hardly have gone better for Thomas Müller and his new club. The 2014 world champion, who moved from FC Bayern to the Canadian club Vancouver Whitecaps in the summer, defeated FC Dallas 3-0 on the night from Sunday to Monday. Müller himself contributed the second goal of the evening with a penalty kick. It was his ninth goal in nine games for Vancouver.
The Whitecaps around their German captain are, as it became clear against Dallas, in top form – and are aiming for the MLS title. It would be the first for the team, where Bayern star Alphonso Davies also trained. The Whitecaps would also be the first Canadian team since 2017 to lift the MLS Cup. At that time, Toronto FC won the trophy.
Müller made it clear in a TV interview after the game against Dallas that there is belief in the title in the club. “If I were not a player, but an expert, and saw this team, with this dominance, then I would say that this team has a strong connection. You can see that they work together,” the 36-year-old initially explained. He doesn’t want to reveal any more secrets. But then he made it clear: “We feel very comfortable as a group, as an entire club. In addition, the connection with the fans continues to grow. We are ready for more.”
The starting position for achieving “more” is currently extremely favorable for Müller and the Whitecaps. The Canadians will face Dallas again on Sunday in the second leg of the first round of the playoffs. With a second win, a place in the conference semifinals would be perfect. Important: If the score is still tied after 90 minutes, there will be a penalty shootout. The result from the first leg is irrelevant. If Vancouver loses the second game, there will be a playoff for a place in the semi-finals.
In general, the MLS is divided into two conferences – the Western and the Eastern Conference. Both consist of 15 teams that meet twice during the regular season. In addition, each team will face six teams from the other conference in one game. After 34 match days, the seven best teams from both conferences move into the playoffs. There are also the two wildcard winners. These are determined beforehand in a single game between the eighth and ninth place teams in the two conferences.