Soccer <\/p>\n
A spectacle awaits when Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> host Inter Miami CF<\/a> for the Leagues Cup<\/a> 2025 final on Sunday evening (8 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>; Univision, TUDN).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n More than 65,000 fans are expected to attend Lumen Field for the championship clash, surpassing the tournament\u2019s single-match attendance record by over 15,000 spectators.<\/p>\n Should the Sounders capitalize on home-field advantage, they\u2019d become the first MLS team to win every major piece of North American silverware that\u2019s available.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re all excited, as a collective, to be able to maybe make history,\u201d said Sounders attacker Jes\u00fas Ferreira<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing that this is the only trophy that the club needs to fill the cabinet, we’re all motivated for the final. We all know finals don’t come very often. We did well during the tournament to get to this final, so we just have to finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seattle went unbeaten in Phase One, emerging as the only MLS or LIGA MX team to take the maximum nine points available. They\u2019ve maintained momentum throughout the knockout phase, eliminating Club Puebla on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals before securing a 2-0 semifinal win<\/a> at the LA Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, the Sounders aim to add to their eight previous titles. The list includes four US Open Cups<\/a>, two MLS Cups, one Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> and a Supporters\u2019 Shield.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s important to live presently, understand the moment, but also take a deep breath,\u201d said Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is like any other game. You’ve played this game so much and, yes, the pressures are a little different. But at the end of the day, this is a game that we’ve been playing for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n If Seattle\u2019s strength is their depth and collective approach, Inter Miami\u2019s is their experience and star power.<\/p>\n That\u2019s most evident with Lionel Messi<\/a>, who\u2019s looking to lift his world-record 47th trophy for club and country. The Argentine No. 10 is coming off a masterful performance, scoring a late brace that fueled a 3-1 semifinal win<\/a> over Florida Derby rivals Orlando City<\/a> \u2013 all while returning from a nagging hamstring injury.<\/p>\n Inter Miami, who won Leagues Cup in 2023 upon Messi\u2019s arrival, have a chance to grow their club\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you arrive at a team, a project such as this, our expectations are to fight and win the most that we can,\u201d said head coach Javier Mascherano.<\/p>\n \u201cMany times, these expectations can be met. Sometimes, they cannot. But now we\u2019re so close that we\u2019re just one match away from raising the Leagues Cup trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Miami midfielder Rodrigo De Paul<\/a> provided a window into the mentality that defines a final. Alongside Messi, he won four titles with Argentina from 2021-24 and will enter next summer\u2019s FIFA World Cup as a defending champion.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time a match starts, particularly when a cup is at stake, my only thought is ending that match with no regrets,\u201d said De Paul, who joined the Herons last month on loan from Atl\u00e9tico Madrid.<\/p>\n \u201cMany times, soccer is not always fair. Not always does the best one win. But I always have that attitude to keep going in the match and leave with no regrets, no bad aftertaste. Tomorrow, I\u2019m going to play as I usually do with giving my all and trying to get the win.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sounders are similarly buzzing, according to Paul Rothrock<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We like how we’re playing; our system is working well,” Rothrock said. “You guys have heard it all year: The strength of our collective is really special, and I think everyone can feel a different energy with this team. It’s fun to be around.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Seattle and Miami, who have qualified for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup by reaching the final, have been on a roll all summer.<\/p>\n Since a solid showing at the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a>, the Sounders have lost just once in their 14 games across all competitions (9W-1L-4D). They\u2019ve received clutch performances from less-heralded players like goalkeeper Andrew Thomas<\/a> and striker Osaze De Rosario<\/a>, overcoming an injury wave that would derail most other teams.<\/p>\n The Herons also impressed at the Club World Cup, becoming the first MLS team to beat a European opponent in an official competition and reach the knockout rounds of that global tournament. As clutch as Messi, De Paul & Co. are in big moments, youngsters like Telasco Segovia<\/a> and Ian Fray<\/a> have proven crucial to this tournament run.<\/p>\n But only one club can reign over North America, and the massive crowd will surely add to the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cInter Miami and Seattle Sounders are the teams that deserve to be in the final match,\u201d Mascherano said. \u201cI have no doubt about that.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nSurging Sounders<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Messi factor<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Dreaming big<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Last one standing<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n