Seattle Sounders humiliate Inter Miami: Leagues Cup title, trophy grand slam, and a night for the history books | OneFootball

Lumen Field shook under the roar of 69,314 fans — the largest soccer crowd in Washington State history — as the Seattle Sounders dismantled Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 3–0 to capture the 2025 Leagues Cup. The trophy doesn’t just add another line to Seattle’s cabinet. It completes the set: the Sounders are now the first MLS club to lift every major North American title.

First Half: De Rosario Makes His Mark

Against a Miami side led by Messi, Luis Suárez, and Rodrigo De Paul, Seattle refused to be star-struck. They pressed high, stayed compact, and struck first. In the 26th minute, Osaze De Rosario soared at the back post to bury Alex Roldan’s whipped cross — with Jesús Ferreira cleverly slipping in the secondary assist. It was De Rosario’s fourth goal of the tournament, a strike that underscored Seattle’s ability to blend academy talent with astute acquisitions.

(Yuriy Tsupruk / Pitchside USA)

Messi flashed brilliance, Suárez drifted dangerously, but Andrew Thomas stood tall in goal, foreshadowing the Best Goalkeeper award he’d collect by night’s end.

Second Half: Ruthlessness vs. Wastefulness

(Yuriy Tsupruk / Pitchside USA)

Miami came out swinging. Tadeo Allende squandered a sitter in the 60th minute, and those missed chances proved fatal.

Seattle, by contrast, punished every mistake. Substitute Georgi Minoungou drew a penalty in the 82nd after Yannick Bright clattered him. Roldan converted with ice-cold precision. Then, in the 87th, hometown hero Paul Rothrock sealed it, curling a ball across the goal for the 3–0 dagger.

For the first time in 16 Leagues Cup matches, Miami fired blanks.

(Yuriy Tsupruk / Pitchside USA)

Aftermath: Glory and Controversy

What should have been a coronation turned into a disaster. A bench-clearing melee erupted at the whistle. Reports alleged Suárez spat on a Seattle staffer — a flashpoint that drew condemnation and left Miami head coach Javier Mascherano shrugging it off as “provocation.” His lack of accountability will fuel debate as Miami’s season continues.

(Yuriy Tsupruk / Pitchside USA)

Sounders Legacy, Cemented

Seattle’s 15–2 goal differential across the tournament wasn’t dominance. It was annihilation.

By adding the Leagues Cup to 4 U.S. Open Cups, 2 MLS Cups, 1 Supporters’ Shield, and a Concacaf Champions Cup, Seattle now stands as the most decorated MLS club of the modern era. Both they and Miami head into the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, though Seattle earns a bye to the Round of 16.

Why This Night Matters

(Yuriy Tsupruk / Pitchside USA)

This wasn’t just another MLS vs. Messi storyline. It was a statement. Seattle proved that a disciplined, tactically balanced team with depth can overwhelm even the game’s biggest names. At the league level, the Sounders provided MLS with a blueprint: you don’t need Galácticos to win if your system is stronger than their star power.

(Yuriy Tsupruk / Pitchside USA)

For Miami, the questions linger: Does Messi have enough left to drag this roster to silverware, or will the star power remain more show than substance?