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For the fourth time in the 25 months since Lionel Messi arrived in South Florida and donned the pink No. 10 shirt for MLS glamor club Inter Miami, there’s a title at stake for the GOAT.
On Sunday night in Seattle, Messi and his Herons will try to recapture the Leagues Cup crown they won ahead of every first division club in the United States, Canada and Mexico a mere seven games into his new stateside adventure.
Messi then led Miami to the 2023 U.S. Open Cup final, which they lost to the Houston Dynamo.
Last season, Inter ran away with the MLS Supporter’s Shield awarded to the regular season champion, setting a single-season record for points.
There have been failures over the last two years, sure. Concacaf Champions Cup elimination to Liga LX titan Monterrey in the 2024 quarterfinals and in the semis this spring against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Last fall, Atlanta United stunned top-seeded Miami in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. At this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, the Herons squandered a chance to top their group and were humbled by Paris Saint-Germain in the knockout stage.
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Winning the MLS championship remains the priority for the Herons, who recruited Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s teammate on Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad, from Atlético Madrid last month. They still boast half of peak Barcelona’s starting lineup, with Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez rounding out the 38-year-old legend’s supporting cast. While they have fallen slightly off the Supporters Shield pace this year, Miami will still probably be the bookies’ pick to hoist MLS Cup on Dec. 6.
But for a club that debuted just five years ago, every chance to add another trophy to the cabinet matters.
The Leagues Cup format has changed since Messi & Co. claimed the inaugural version in 2023. Just the 18 MLS clubs that made last year’s playoffs qualified, though Vancouver was replaced by expansion side San Diego FC. Intra-league matchups were guaranteed through the quarterfinals — though the decider will be an All-American affair for the third year running.
How Miami got there
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Inter opened their three-match first-round slate with a stoppage-time win over Atlas. Disaster struck in their second outing — Messi was forced off the field with a leg muscle injury just minutes after kickoff and the hosts were reduced to 10 men moments later. Javier Mascherano’s side rallied with a late Alba equalizer before winning on penalties.
After a multi-goal victory in the group finale, Messi-less Miami outlasted Tigres to advance to the final four. In-state rival Orlando City scored first in that match. But Messi — who else? — came to the rescue upon his return, converting a 77th-minute penalty and then adding the winner with 120 seconds of regular time left. Now he’ll play for a 47th career title.
How the Sounders got there
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Seattle began their Leagues Cup campaign with a bang, beating Mexico City-based giant Cruz Azul 7-0. And while things got progressively more difficult after that for Brian Schmetzer’s men, they still reeled off three more victories against Liga MX opposition, defeating Santos Laguna and Club Tijuana by identical 2-1 scores, then eliminating Puebla on penalties to set up another all-MLS semifinal.
Despite having to play Wednesday’s single elimination tilt on the road midweek, Seattle flew home from Los Angeles with a convincing 2-0 triumph over the defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy.
Which team is the favorite?
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Inter Miami will take the longest domestic trip in all of MLS for the title decider at the Emerald City’s cavernous Lumen Field, where the Sounders have lost just one of their 13 matches against MLS opposition this season. But the Herons still have a slight advantage, at least according to the oddsmakers — who usually aren’t wrong. Miami has lost just three of their last 20 games across all competitions, including that Club World Club defeat to PSG, the reigning European champion. They also have vast experience should the outcome of Sunday’s contest have to be determined in extra time or by penalty kicks. They also have Messi, obviously. Bet against the GOAT and Friends at your peril.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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