SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders have lifted yet another trophy. The 3-0 win over Inter Miami on Sunday in front of a record crowd of 69,314 was a continuation of Seattle’s domination throughout the tournament, with goals from Osaze De Rosario, Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock seeing them to victory.
The Sounders had Miami under pressure from the game’s earliest moments. First it was De Rosario with the slightest of touches on a header in the 3rd minute off of a cross from Jackson Ragen, but Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari got just enough contact to keep the shot out. Then in the 5th minute Jesús Ferreira had a good look at goal but put his shot wide.
It wasn’t one-way traffic for all the threat Seattle posed, though. Messi had his first dangerous moment in the 12th minute as he carried the ball towards goal but a timely tackle from Obed Vargas forced him to settle for a corner rather than a moment of magic.
Then in the 26th moment De Rosario provided the breakthrough. Ferreira swung the ball out from the middle of the field to Alex Roldan on the right wing with space to run into. Roldan carried the ball forward, then whipped in a cross and De Rosario was perfectly placed to head it in at the back post and give the Sounders the lead.
Rothrock had a chance to double the lead in the 40th minute, but Ustari was able to make a 1-v-1 save to keep the scoreline at 1-0, but the play proved to be a moment of foreshadowing.
Leo Messi had a pair of chances on either side of halftime, first in the 43rd minute when Miami had a free kick that they played to him for a long-range shot that he skied into the supporters section. Then in the 50th minute Suarez showed the kind of skill that has made him a global superstar, flexing some hold-up play and then hitting a lovely little pass to put Messi in space with only Andrew Thomas between him and the goal. Instead of providing a signature finish Messi put his shot high and wide.
The two sides continued to exchange blows over the subsequent half-hour, but neither team could find a goal. But in the 82nd minute Georgi Minoungou got the ball on the left wing with a chance to run at Yannick Bright. He backed Bright down as he drove towards the goal, eventually forcing Bright to lunge in for a tackle that only resulted in giving Seattle a penalty. After some protests and delays, Alex Roldan stepped up to the spot and confidently put his penalty away as Ustari dove the wrong way, making it 2-0 for the Sounders in the 84th minute.
With a 2-0 lead Seattle could have looked to simply see out the game, but just 5 minutes later the Sounders were back in Miami’s end. Alex Roldan once again had the ball in a dangerous spot and attempted to find Danny Leyva with a pass. Leyva had already overrun the pass, but the ball was played into a pocket of space between Miami’s defenders and Rothrock ran onto it, took a touch to go by Sergio Busquets and got off a shot across the face of goal and into the far post before Maximilliano Falcon could close him down to make it 3-0 in the 89th minute.
The referee blew the final whistle not long after the goal celebrations completed, but as the Sounders celebrated their victory Sergio Busquets apparently took issue with how Obed Vargas celebrated and an on-field donnybrook popped off. Luis Suarez, the guy famous for racially abusing a player and biting numerous opponents, spit on a Sounders staffer, among numerous embarrassing acts from Miami players.
Regardless of the ugliness that followed the end of the game, YOUR Seattle Sounders are now Leagues Cup Champions. Andrew Thomas was awarded Goalkeeper of the Tournament, and Pedro de la Vega received the Golden Ball for Player of the Tournament. The team now has some time to celebrate and rest as they head into the international break, next taking the field on Saturday, September 13 back at home against the LA Galaxy.
Lineups
Seattle rolls out a largely unchanged lineup from the win over the LA Galaxy, with Nouhou’s red card opening the door for Reed Baker-Whiting to start and make the only change to the Starting XI.
Lineup as expected. Reed Baker-Whiting replaces Nouhou. Albert Rusnák makes the bench.
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) 2025-08-31T23:16:22.797Z
Key moments
3 - Chance! Ragen finds himself with the ball on the right wing after a free kick gets recycled and sends a cross in that De Rosario gets a touch to but it’s saved by Ustari.
5 - Shot! Ferreira finds De Rosario in a moment of transition and De Rosario shoots rather than using one of his runners, but his shot goes well wide.
12 - TACKLE! Messi has a chance to run in on goal, but Vargas makes a last-second tackle to poke the ball away for a corner.
26 - GOAL! Alex Roldan fires in a cross from the right after Ferreira finds him in space and De Rosario meets it at the far post to smash in for the opening goal! Sounders take the lead, 1-0
Made for this moment 🙌 Osaze rises up to give us the early lead!
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-09-01T00:58:20.406Z
40 - CHANCE! Rothrock finds Ferreira in a pocket of space and he takes a fantastic shot that beats Ustari but comes back off the far post and the ‘keeper is able to grab it when it hits his back.
43 - Air ball! Miami get a bailout foul call in midfield and they use it to set up a shot for Messi from downtown that he blasts into the Brougham End.
50 - Chance! Suarez finds Messi in a pocket of space with a clever pass and Messi has a clean look at goal, but can’t put his shot on frame.
54 - Save! Vargas deflects a cross from the wing and Thomas dive across goal, grab the ball and hang onto it to put the moment to bed.
56 - Chance! De la Vega plays Baker-Whiting into space down the left and he hits a cross that’s immediately deflected towards the corner at the near post but Ustari is able to keep it out.
57 - Sub. Miami make the first change, taking Gonzalo Lujan off and bringing in Telasco Segovia.
60 - Chance! Allende has a chance 1-v-1 with Thomas and seems to have him beat, but his chipped finish goes just wide.
61 - Subs. Seattle make their first adjustments, taking off Pedro de la Vega and Osaze De Rosario and bringing in Danny Leyva and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi.
69 - Chance! Vargas runs onto a rebound and puts a shot in that’s deflected off of a player and hits Rothrock but the bounce off of him just misses the goal.
71 - Sub. Fafa Picault comes into the game to replace Ian Fray for Miami.
73 - Shot! Baker-Whiting plays Rothrock into space behind the defense with a great ball, but Ustar makes the save on Rothrock’s shot.
78 - Sub. Jesús Ferreira comes out, replaced by Georgi Minoungou for the Sounders.
82 - PENALTY! Minoungou drives into the area, backing down Bright until he dives in and takes out Minoungou’s legs to give Seattle a chance from the spot. Bright is shown a yellow for the foul.
84 - GOAL! Alex Roldan steps up to the spot for the Sounders, sends Ustari the wrong way and smashes the PK home! 2-0, Sounders
85 - Sub. Yannick Bright leaves the game and Benjamin Cremaschi comes on for Miami.
89 - GOAL! ROTHROCK MAKES IT THREE!!!!! Alex Roldan plays a bal intended for Leyva that ends up in a pocket of space and Rothrock runs onto it, takes a touch to get past Busquets and finishes to the far post before Falcon can close him down! 3-0, Sounders
90+1 - Sub. Paul Rothrock leaves the field to a full-stadium ovation, replaced by Kim Kee-hee for Seattle.
Quick thoughts
Sounders vs. the World: The Seattle Sounders started their current run of phenomenal form by testing themselves against some of the best teams on the globe in the Club World Cup. They didn’t get the results anyone would have hoped for, but they showed to themselves and the rest of the world that they could hang against a different caliber of team and player. Against Miami they got the chance to put that newfound belief to the test as they squared off against the likes of Messi, Suarez, Jordi Alba and Rodrigo De Paul – they’d actually already played against De Paul here at Lumen Field during the CWC before he moved from Atletico Madrid to Miami – and this time they came out on top. Miami had their opportunities, but Seattle were able to limit those chances and kept them from turning any of them into goals. They rattled and rocked Miami’s superstars to the point that Busquets was trying to fight Obed Vargas and Suarez was spitting at a Sounders staffer after the game. The season’s not done yet, and after tonight the sky is truly the limit.
What does it mean: The Leagues Cup is a competition of dubious sporting merit for a variety of reasons. Having all of the games in MLS stadiums, forcing Liga MX teams to do insane travel throughout the competition leaves a decisive imbalance between the teams from the two leagues, it creates an unnecessary break in the flow of the regular season, and is entirely created to fill air time. But it absolutely rocks. This trophy, this final, ultimately won’t mean more than the MLS Cups or the CCL title, but it definitely means something. Having Messi and his cohort in town obviously drove demand and hype around the event, but the energy in the stadium was unlike anything we’ve ever seen here. The Messi jerseys sprinkled around the stadium may not have made much noise to spur on Miami, but they did seem to drive the Sounders supporters to greater levels and ultimately helped to drive Seattle to victory. It’s a championship and a new trophy in the collection, but maybe more than anything else it’s a reminder of what the club and the fans are capable of.
Another shutout: With the 3 goals and the 16 scored throughout the tournament draw a lot of attention, and for good reason. But it has to be noted that the Sounders kept 4 clean sheets in 6 matches, only gave up 2 goals all competition, and capped it all off with a clean sheet against a Miami team that has rarely been kept so quiet. Credit goes to the entire team, a sentiment echoed over and over after the game by the team, but Andrew Thomas also deserves a special shout. He only made one save, but was active and involved throughout and has created a genuine goalkeeper controversy in the Sounders clubhouse. The team is putting it together on both sides of the ball, and the rest of MLS should be terrified.
Notable quote
Brian Schmetzer on the collective effort: “Guys making blocks, sacrificing, that whole sequence down in the right corner in the second half ... we out-dueled them, and that’s part of the collective, and that’s what we needed tonight."
Player spotlight
The obvious choice is obvious for a reason, and in this one Alex Roldan is the obvious player to spotlight. Two assists and the PK are the standout stats, but Alex Roldan was crucial to the collective effort on both sides of the ball and put his penalty away like it was nothing.
