Confident Sounders face Inter Miami in Leagues Cup final

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will look for their second Leagues Cup title in three years when they visit the Seattle Sounders in Sunday's final.

Miami's 2023 run coincided with Messi's arrival in South Florida. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner had an immediate impact on the Herons, scoring 10 goals during the competition and leading the club to its first-ever major trophy.

Two years later, things are a bit more complicated for the now 38-year-old Messi and a roster that still includes his former FC Barcelona colleagues Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

Injuries have limited Messi to only 190 minutes so far in the tournament, and a relatively modest haul of two goals and two assists.

And Miami has come up short in other tournaments -- most recently exiting in the semifinals of the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup to the Vancouver Whitecaps and the first round of the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs to Atlanta United.

Messi is rarely an underdog. But against a Seattle side that is as experienced as any on the continent, it's clear he's not an overwhelming favorite.

"It will be a very difficult game, but no team is perfect, so we have to try to exploit whatever weaknesses Seattle may have," Miami manager Javier Mascherano told the Miami Herald. "We will have to stay focused and have a near-perfect game to win."

Seattle has lost just once in 14 games across all competitions since it was one of three MLS teams -- along with Miami -- to play at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Sounders appeared to gain confidence from respectable defeats to Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Botafogo, while seeing the return to health of influential players like defender Yeimar and attacker Pedro de la Vega in the weeks since.

"I think that narrative has been out there the last month, month and a half," Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer said. "Our record since the club world cup has been really good. The learning curve that we have had since those games, the excitement, the confidence, it's all there."

The Sounders will be missing fullback Nouhou after he received a red card late in Wednesday's semifinal win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. They were already set to be without striker Danny Musovski, who was suspended multiple matches for making contact with the referee in the quarterfinal.