How a position change pushed Ali Ahmed's game to a new level for Whitecaps

---

It’s still early, but there are signs that 2025 is going to be a year where Ali Ahmed hits a new level as a player.  

In his third full season with the Whitecaps, Ahmed has already started to hit new heights just two months into the season, sitting with four assists in 14 appearances, matching a career-high for goal contributions, which came when he had three goals and one assist in 30 appearances in 2023. 

Not only that, but his performances have been quite good, too - he has been a key part of Jesper Sørensen’s system, having a big impact on both sides of the ball for his team. 

That’s been huge, as the Whitecaps were banking on a big year for him. Having lost some key pieces in the offseason, including Stuart Armstrong and Fafà Picault, the Whitecaps were hoping for a big leap from Ahmed, helping fill the shoes left behind by Picault, who had 10 goals and eight assists in all competitions last year for the Whitecaps. 

So far, Ahmed has been on the right track - even if he’ll say himself he should have a few goals to his name at this stage - with his strong performances being one of the many reasons why the Whitecaps have been off to a torrid start to 2025. 

Now, Ahmed will get an opportunity to truly showcase his growth on a massive stage, as the Whitecaps get set for a huge clash vs. Inter Miami in the semi-finals of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Fittingly, while many will see this as a chance for the Whitecaps to test themselves against a dangerous team, led by Lionel Messi, this match will be a full-circle moment for Ahmed, as this will be his first match against Picault, who joined Miami this offseason. 

Amid Picault’s big 2024 campaign, he also played a big role mentoring Ahmed, as the pair developed an important relationship on and off the field. When seeing some of Ahmed’s success this year, one can only imagine that Picault had a part to play, which shows why this battle will be special for both. 

Speaking of Ahmed and Picault, however, it’s a good time to ask the question - how has Ahmed done to replace Picault? 

The answer to that is complex - the reality is that while Ahmed is probably the closest like-for-like replacement for Picault on this Whitecaps squad, it’s truly not a like-for-like situation. 

Given that the Whitecaps changed head coaches this offseason, as Vanni Sartini departed and Sørensen arrived, that completely changed how the Whitecaps played. 

Under Sartini, Picault was the third option of a dangerous attacking trio led by Brian White and Ryan Gauld, which was reflected in the statistics - after Gauld (17 goals+16 assists in all competitions) and White (16 goals and 3 assists), Picault was the next best contributor with his 10 goals and eight assists. After those three, no one had double digits in goal contributions, with Sebastian Berhalter and his three goals and five assists the next name on that list. 

Under Sørensen, however, the attack is much more balanced. White has led the way with 10 goals, but after that, Jayden Nelson’s one goal and five assists and Ahmed’s four assists are the next best marks. Part of that comes down to the fact that Gauld has played just six games, in which he has one goal and two assists, but when seeing that the Whitecaps have already had 13 different goalscorers, and 11 players with multiple goal contributions, that stands out, given that they had 14 different goalscorers and 14 players with multiple goal contributions in all of 2024. 

Because of that, it means the true answer to the Picault question is that while Ahmed has played a big role, so has Nelson, with the overall strength of depth scoring more than making up for Picault’s departure (and other factors such as Gauld’s absence).

To answer the "did Ahmed replace Picault" question, however... as this chart shows, Ahmed has been better in chance creation and most of the ball progression, passing and defending numbers in 2025, but Picault's 2024 season has the edge in goalscoring, shooting and dribbling. 

Returning to Ahmed, however, that leads to the other important question - how has his role evolved under Sørensen? That answer is much more interesting, for a multitude of reasons. 

TAKE A BOW, BRIAN! First-ever player in our @MLS era to score four!

📺 https://t.co/RpNRjNvmkI #VWFC | #VANvATX pic.twitter.com/pMaIj3OsjL

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) April 13, 2025

Namely, the big one has been his deployment - he’s played almost exclusively as a left winger this season, with a bit of right wing sprinkled in. By comparison, he often played as a wing back in 2024, also slotting in as a winger, attacking midfielder and midfielder. 

Because of that, his FBRef chart for 2024 has him listed as a midfielder, whereas he’s now listed as a winger/attacking midfielder, showing that he’s playing more of an advanced role in Vancouver’s attack.

Ahmed's heat map in 2024 and 2025, highlighting how much more attacking of a role he's currently playing (via WyScout). 

That’s had a big impact on Ahmed, who often had to fulfill his defensive responsibilities before focusing on what was going on higher up the pitch before - now, he gets to focus on the attack first, something that he doesn’t mind at all.

A tricky winger who loves to take players on 1v1, it’s worth noting that side of his game hasn’t changed too much - he averaged 4.7 dribbles per 90 minutes in all competitions last year, completing them at a 59.1% success rate, and is now averaging 5.38 dribbles at a 59.7% success rate (via WyScout). Not only that, but he is also winning 2.25 fouls per 90 minutes, after winning 1.92 fouls in 2024, showing that he's also continuing to frustrate defenders.

A common sight in games - Ahmed running at someone, and winning a foul. 

What’s changed, however, is where he’s getting on the ball. 

For example, in 2024, he averaged just 2.68 touches in the box per 90 minutes - that number has ballooned up to 6.85 in 2025, as he’s doing a great job of getting into the box with his dribbles, specifically. 

A great example of the sort of run Ahmed is doing more of - he runs at the defender, and then tries to get the ball into the box. 

Another great example of the runs Ahmed is making - this time, he takes the ball and runs into danger, winning a free kick in a good spot. 

To elaborate on that last point, he had 3.93 passes into the box per 90 (at a 58.2% rate) in 2024, but is averaging 2.95 passes into the box per 90 (at a 67.6%), showing that his high number is box touches is mostly coming from dribbles, although it’s encouraging to see him be more efficient with his passes into the box (all data via WyScout). In particular, he's done a great job of adding different passes into his game, as instead of just running to the byline to cross, he can also cut inside and play some carving passes, which gives defenders something to think about.

A play Ahmed has made several times this year - he cuts inside, and spots the run of a teammate, playing a great through ball. 

Emmanuel Sabbi scores his first MLS goal in his first start for @WhitecapsFC! pic.twitter.com/pYC22vmzp5

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 6, 2025

That’s huge, as he was already a ball-progression machine for the Whitecaps before, which hasn’t changed - in fact, it’s improved, as his progressive runs are up from 4.01 to 4.51 per 90 (via WyScout), and his progressive passes are up from 4.86 to 5.28 per 90 (via FBRef, MLS play only). 

As a winger, however, players are always going to be judged for their end product, and that’s why it’s encouraging to see Ahmed get the ball in the box more often. Not only that, but he’s creating chances there, too - he has 0.19 Expected Goals (xG) and 0.16 Expected Assists (xA) per 90 minutes, having averaged 0.06 xG and 0.13 xA per 90 in 2024 (via WyScout). 

GOAL 🏔️

RYAN GAULD opens the scoring for @WhitecapsFC vs. Saprissa, setting up the attacking sequence before applying the cool finish to bury his effort into the bottom corner 🎯#VWFC | #ConcaChampions

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/WNBfBKP7OG

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) February 21, 2025

For reference, if Ahmed were to keep that up throughout the season, playing approximately 2000 minutes, he’d finish with 4.18 xG and 3.52 xG. Given that he already has four assists, that means it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see him flirt with double-digit goal contributions if he keeps those expected numbers up, which is not bad at all for a winger. 

Considering that he’s shooting more (up to 1.82 shots per 90 from 1.12 in 2024) and creating more (up to 1.21 key passes per 90 from 1.2 in 2024), that’s another reason to believe double-digit goal contributions could be in the cards for him if he keeps this up.

Another example of Ahmed making that carving pass after cutting inside. 

Now, however, his big challenge will be to continue to unearth more final product, as he still has room to develop in that side of his game, even despite the progress made this year. 

Namely, he’ll want to become more of a goalscoring threat - that he last scored in March of 2024 will weigh on him, given that he’s generated almost four xG since the start of 2024 - so look for him to try and be more lethal in shooting positions. He does that, and that could alter his offensive game, as it’ll encourage him to shoot more, while opening up more dangerous opportunities to generate assists if defenders start focusing on his shot more.

Ahmed's shot map in 2024 and 2025, showing that he's getting into more dangerous spots in 2025, even if he isn't scoring yet. 

Yet, that’ll be the big thing to watch with Ahmed going forward. Otherwise, he does about everything you’d want from a winger - he runs at players, as seen above, but also helps this team build-up with his ball progression skills, and hasn’t slipped in his defensive responsibilities even if he’s more focused on the attack - but he’ll want to hit another level in terms of his end product.

Ideally, Ali Ahmed starts firing shots like this with more conviction going forward, as his idea is right, but his execution is off. 

There’s a reason why Jesse Marsch has trusted him so much for the CanMNT, starting him in eight consecutive games since the Copa América third place game, and why Sørensen has placed similar faith in him since his arrival, starting him in 10 games, including five out of six of their Concacaf Champions Cup matches. 

Often, wingers can be mercurial and unpredictable, and aren’t the most enthusiastic of defenders, but not Ahmed, who is quite consistent in terms of what he brings to the table, at least in terms of that dribbling and defensive work rate. 

The last step will be finding that same consistency when it comes to his final action, but once he finds that, it’ll be fascinating to see where he ends up. There’s a reason why he's already attracted attention from clubs in the top five leagues, as complete wingers of his profile are hard to come by, and that attraction will only rise if he starts to score the goals. 

For now, the Whitecaps would be pleased if those goals could come this week, as they’ll need Ahmed to be at his best as they get set for that Inter Miami clash. Given how dominant Miami are offensively, Ahmed will certainly be asked to do a little more defending than usual, but he’ll also want to chip in on the attack, and would love nothing more than to open his 2025 account with a goal against Messi and his old mentor, Picault.

Another chance Ahmed will want back, this time, you'd want him to finish this shot on his first touch inside of the box. 

Because of that, look for Ahmed to make the most of this opportunity. One thing he’s done well throughout his young career is to seize moments like this - that’s how he’s gone from playing in MLS Next Pro to Whitecaps first team and National Team regular in three years, as he finds a way to raise his game for these big moments where eyeballs are fixed on him. 

He’s done a great job of raising his game on a Whitecaps team that has surpassed many’s expectations in 2025, so look for him to continue that against Miami.