The Seattle Sounders swept aside Inter Miami 3-0 on Sunday, August 31 at Seattle’s Lumen Field Stadium in the final of the Leagues Cup, leaving Leo Messi without what would have been his third U.S. soccer title.
Goals from Osaze De Rosario in the first half and Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock in the second half punished Inter Miami’s lack of punch, who had two clear chances to level the score at 1-0 with Messi and Tadeo Allende.
Seattle Sounders win Leagues Cup
As finalists, Inter Miami, champions of the Leagues Cup in 2023, will also play in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2026, as will the Sounders.
It was played in a festive atmosphere in Seattle, where singer Mario Bautista enlivened the pre-game ceremony by singing the Leagues Cup anthem.
There were dozens of Messi banners in the stands at Lumen Field, but thousands of Sounders fans made their players feel at home.
And it showed at the start of the match with an aggressive Sounders, who played a lot on the flanks, relying on the spark of De La Vega and also the involvement of the fullbacks.
De Rosario, the Sounders’ top scorer in this Leagues Cup, twice warned goalkeeper Óscar Ustari in the first ten minutes and the home defense assaulted in all positions a Messi who struggled to find space to free his left foot.
And Seattle’ s pressure paid off in the 26th minute, when Alex Roldan delivered a perfect cross from the right flank that De Rozario headed into the back of the net to give his team the lead.
It was the reward for the Green’s drive, who could also have gone back to the dressing room with a double lead, had a shot by Jesús Ferreira not been repelled by the post.
Inter Miami tries to react, but it’s not enough
The break was good for Inter Miami to reorganize ideas and Mascherano ‘s team locked the Sounders in their half of the field for twenty minutes in the second half. But they lacked punch.
Messi had an unbeatable chance after a great pass from Suárez inside the box, but he shot too powerfully and the ball ended up high just four minutes into the second half.
Ten minutes later, Suárez again came up with a spectacular line of passing to free Tadeo Allende, alone in front of the goal.
The striker opened his right-footed shot too wide and the ball ended up wide.
It was a psychological blow for Inter Miami, who began to pay for the energy drain and conceded space on the counterattack to the Sounders.
Messi’s totally cancelled
Poetry in motion 🪄 pic.twitter.com/gN3EjAx1eK
– Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) September 1, 2025
Ustari kept Inter Miami alive with a miraculous one-on-one with Paul Rothrock in the 73rd, but his team had no strength to find the net.
In the 82nd minute, Mascherano’s men called for a penalty for a one-handed touch by Kalani Kossa-Rienzi in the box, but the Seattle player had his arm very close to his body.
And in the next action, Georgi Minoungou of Côte d’Ivoire was brought down in the box by Yannick Bright.
The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty, which Roldan converted safely to make it 2-0.
In a festive atmosphere at Lumen Field, the Sounders picked up confidence and put the icing on their night with Rothrock’s 3-0 win.
The final for third and fourth place was also played in Los Angeles on Sunday, won 2-1 by the Galaxy against Orlando City.
Se jugó en un ambiente de fiesta en Seattle, donde el cantante Mario Bautista animó la ceremonia prepartido al entonar el himno de la Leagues Cup
QuéOnnda.com
With information from Agencia Efe
