Perhaps it was the steely gaze or that now familiar air of resilience, but when Jayden Nelson stepped up late in the penalty shootout on Saturday, he — and likely tens of thousands of Vancouver Whitecaps’ fans — had no doubt he would score.
And boy did he hit it!
French World Cup champ Hugo Lloris in goal stood no chance — Nelson fired a textbook spot kick that set up his teammate Mathias Laborda to bag the winner against LAFC, ensuring a date this Saturday with San Diego in the MLS Conference Final.
“Halfway through extra time I had already picked my spot,” Nelson admits, “And I knew we were going to hold out. You know, Hugo Lloris is in the net, and I watched him in the 2022 World Cup, which is crazy, but I just knew I had to take my time. You can see that I took a while to kick the ball, but, yeah, just taking my time and being able to pick my spot, I knew I was going to score.”
Nelson has always been a confident footballer, even when he decided he had to leave Toronto FC in 2023 to join Rosenborg in Norway. It wasn’t because of a lack of belief on the player's part; more accurately, it was a lack of belief on the club's part… another young Canadian given up on by TFC, only to see them excel elsewhere. Sound familiar?
Ironically, following a stint in Germany, Nelson would be reunited in Vancouver with two players who had also been let go from TFC: midfielder Ali Ahmed and midfielder/defender Ralph Priso. Ahmed has developed into a star for his club and his country, while Priso’s development curve, much like Nelson's, continues to progress, and he is considered a key member of the squad and an example of the Whitecaps' superior depth.
Nelson is still young at just 23, but he, like his teammates, has experienced the Canadian soccer blender. And you can bet there have been times that he, Ahmed and Priso have considered the oddities of professional soccer, and how three Toronto boys had to leave their hometown only to find themselves together on the West Coast.
“I don’t want to say redemption,” Nelson explains, “but you’re gonna have your time, you know, and this is our time to grab the bull by the horns, and have the spotlight. And, you know, if it was necessary for us to leave our hometown to do that, then that's just what it is. But right now it's the moment for us to just thrive and just keep going.”
Through this remarkable season for the Whitecaps, the Canadian soccer public has been reminded that Vancouver really is the centre of the sport in this burgeoning soccer nation. The history is there, of course, but now the ‘Caps are back to the great heights of yesteryear, as over 53,000 fans at BC Place last Saturday will attest to. Nelson agrees, it is amazing what a season of dominance will do for a team and its standing in a city.
“Coming from Germany and seeing where Vancouver was when I first got here, and seeing how the city was in terms of fans and the support and how it is now," Nelson said. "It's a big change, you know, and it feels good to see that everyone's behind us and to see what is one of the biggest moments in Canadian history in terms of football. So it's huge for sure.”
Away from home this Saturday, the Whitecaps will be challenged by hosts San Diego FC, of course. Vying for the title of Greatest Expansion Team in History, and led by the brilliance of Danish forward Anders Dreyer, San Diego will put pressure on the Whitecaps, especially on defence, with Vancouver's Tristan Blackmon — the MLS defender of the year — suspended following a red card against LAFC and centre-back partner Belal Habouni injured. Once again, Jesper Sorensen’s side will be forced to reach into its renowned depth.
The club has been doing this all season — its resilience has become the stuff of legend, even getting the better of old nemesis LAFC, despite playing with nine men as the minutes counted down. An LAFC that had beaten Vancouver in the last two playoffs didn’t really affect the team's mindset, as there was nothing to affect, according to Nelson.
“The mindset is the same, we've been in situations which we never thought we would get out of, you know, and this is just another one, another example of how strong this team is, and we could win in so many different ways," he said. "And yeah, it's the same mentality — we're just gonna go. We have injuries, yes, but it's just the next round up mentality.”
Mindset. It’s a word that keeps on cropping up when discussing these Vancouver Whitecaps. Whether it's Sebastian Berhalter’s pre-match cold dips in the ocean that allow him to set himself straight, or whether it's the aura that Thomas Müller brought with him — “Just another guy in the room. One with a World Cup trophy and a litany of Champions League and Bundesliga medals” — or the never-say-die mantra that Nelson and company bring with them to the football pitch, something is happening in Vancouver, and there is a Canadian heartbeat throughout.
