Sounders to Battle Inter Miami CF for Leagues Cup Trophy

The Seattle Sounders entered 2025 with a shot at (not counting rivalry cups) four trophies (more realistically, three trophies), and they still have a chance at two.

Seattle's nearest opportunity is in the upcoming Leagues Cup final, where they will be hosting Inter Miami. The other Leagues Cup games in Lumen saw a much-diminished Sounders crowd, but with Messi coming to town and a trophy on the line, we will be looking at a truly giant SoDo showing.

The Sounders' very presence in this tournament has caused controversy, due to the fact that they had to forego the U.S. Open Cup in order to play in Leagues Cup. When you exit the tournament where the (MLS edition of the) team hoisted the first of its many trophies, it's bound to rub a lot of tradition-minded people — and not just fans, the USSF itself rejected the idea of exiting all MLS sides from the Open Cup — the wrong way.

And so, the first four games Seattle played in the 2025 contest saw paltry crowds by Sounders standards. Only the Maquina Massacre saw a crowd over 20,000 people.

But winning, as they say, fixes everything. The tickets have been selling like hot cakes for the Final, as Leo Messi comes to Seattle for the first time since his landmark signing with Miami.

The Sounders are looking to greet Inter Miami with a hoot, holler, and a bit of Chappell Roan-inspired banter, as a victory for Seattle would be a big win for the "Pink Phony Club" nickname. But there's a lot of reasons to think that the Sounders are just the better team.

There's the form, first off. Since the Club World Cub, Seattle has (all comps) gone 9-1-4 (counting the Puebla game as a draw), outscoring their opponents 36-15. The highlight was destroying Cruz Azul 7-0, but Seattle also has the honor of not looking completely helpless against PSG in the CWC, despite losing 2-0 — and that's more than can be said for Miami, who PSG squashed 4-0 in just the first half of their contest.

It's just a team that's been firing on all cylinders, both from the usual stalwarts and from some people we probably weren't expecting at the beginning of the season.

I doubt many would have expected Danny Musovski to top the striker depth chart by August, but that is exactly what has happened. In an August 24 MLS match against Sporting KC, Moose notched the 10th hat trick in the history of the Sounders' current iteration and 35th in total team history.

But the real powerhouse of the top XI is Cristian Roldan. The guy plays with a combination of ferocity and precision that few in MLS can match and puts himself in the engine room of seemingly every play, and it's not a stretch to say he's the lynchpin of Seattle's entire game.

Well, maybe it is a bit of a stretch, because Obed Vargas is just about as good. He's a bit of a different pivot than Cristian — more on the precision and stamina side of things as compared to Cristian's ferocity — but the both of them put the "pivot" in double pivot.

To give another sense of how impressive this team has been playing, they have a really good shot to win Leagues Cup against the actual (albeit 38) GOAT, despite an injury bug taking out some pretty big pieces. Paul Arriola, out for the season. Ryan Kent (who they brought in to replace Arriola), out for a while. Albert Rusnák, out for a while. Jordan Morris, out for a while.

But the center backs are back (pun intended) and the back line is once again rock-solid, with Ragen and Yeimar keeping an iron hold in the center and Alex Roldan often going as an unsung hero on the right. Nouhou had a rut a couple months ago but has been playing like his best self in August (that is, until being shown a red card in the Leagues Cup semis).

Then we talk about the true wings, Paulie Primetime and Georgi Minoungou. Rothrock had his breakout year in 2024 and has looked similarly strong this year, while Minoungou's elite dribbling skill is being supplemented by improving passing and shooting, turning him into a big impact player over the summer.

However, I cannot go without mentioning the wildcard. Pedro de la Vega was hounded by injury in 2024 after being the team's big DP signing. 2025 got off to a similarly shaky note, with dazzling play early on getting thrown off by injury. But like many on this roster, it seems Pepo has found new form as of late (at the low cost of a haircut that ages him by a decade).

And it's a deep team, too. Kalani can play anywhere on the right side, while Jon Bell and Kim Kee-hee are solid options in the back line. Snyder Brunell, recently called up, has become another option in the midfield, helping Obed get some much-needed rest.

With Albert out, the main question mark is probably number 10. Jesus Ferreira and Danny Leyva have both shown skill at the position, though it's probably going to be JF starting with a trophy on the line.

There might have been questions about Andrew Thomas after Frei's injury, but he has pretty much put those to bed. Frei probably still has the edge, but after Thomas' massively clutch performance in the shootout against Club Puebla, Schmetzer will have no trouble looking to him for the final match of Leagues Cup.

Against them are Inter Miami CF, powered by two-thirds of Barça's old big three — striker Luis Suárez and captain Leo Messi. Despite both halves of the duo being two years away from 40 and not playing in every game, they have still bedazzled MLS when they do take the field. Messi's 19 regular season goals and 1.06 goals/game are each second in MLS.

Seattle's strategy is clear: keep the ball from getting to Suárez and Messi and contain them when they do get it. Easier said than done, but Seattle is definitely the more complete team.

With success comes an expectation that the trophy room will grow. Three years is a short span of time, yet it is actually tied for the longest the MLS edition of the Seattle Sounders team has gone without a major trophy. But one thing is clear: the 2025 Sounders have the opportunity, over the coming months, to cement this year as one of the best in team history. The next step is to beat Miami.