Inter Miami will face the Seattle Sounders on Sunday within the Leagues Cup ultimate at Lumen Discipline, a matchup that pits MLS heavyweights towards each other. Forward of the sport, head coach Javier Mascherano delivered a ultimate warning to Lionel Messi and his squad concerning the problem awaiting them.
With Messi again from damage, the Herons placed on a commanding show of their semifinal win over Orlando Metropolis, with the Argentine captain main the best way to safe a spot within the championship match. Their opponent, nonetheless, is a Seattle Sounders facet in glorious kind, recent off a 2-0 victory over LA Galaxy.
Talking with the Miami Herald earlier than the ultimate, Mascherano praised Sounders boss Brian Schmetzer and the consistency he’s delivered to the membership: “Seattle is a good workforce with a improbable coach who has been within the league for a very long time and has made them a perennial winner. It’s a membership with much more historical past than us, and they’re in good kind.”
Seattle have bounced again from a disappointing FIFA Membership World Cup marketing campaign and are driving a formidable run. Since their 2-0 win over Austin on July 28, the Sounders have performed 14 matches throughout all competitions, incomes 10 wins, three attracts, and struggling only one defeat—a stretch that has constructed confidence and momentum heading into Sunday.
Javier Mascherano, Head Coach of Inter Miami CF, talks to Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF through the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on July 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Regardless of Seattle’s sizzling streak, Mascherano made it clear his workforce won’t shrink back. “It will likely be a really troublesome sport, however no workforce is ideal, so we’ve to attempt to exploit no matter weaknesses Seattle could have. We must keep centered and have a near-perfect sport to win,” Mascherano mentioned. “If we play the best way we’ve the previous two Leagues Cup video games, and enhance a number of issues, we should always have a superb probability,” he added.
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Mascherano and the problem of main Inter Miami
After gaining expertise with Argentina’s youth groups, Mascherano took over as Inter Miami’s head coach in the beginning of the 2025 season. On Sunday, he’ll have the possibility to elevate his first trophy as a supervisor, a milestone made much more advanced by the truth that he’s now teaching a number of gamers who had been as soon as his teammates.
Reflecting on the strain of main Messi and a star-studded squad, Mascherano acknowledged the highlight that comes with the position: “After I took this job, the very first thing I knew was the duty of the place due to the quantity of publicity surrounding this membership. You’re main a workforce that features Messi, realizing that not solely in my nation (Argentina) however in the entire world everybody will concentrate on what he does and doesn’t do.“
“After which, not solely Leo, however different notable gamers at a comparatively new, bold membership that’s making an attempt to develop and make U.S. soccer historical past,” Mascherano added. Since Messi’s arrival in 2023, the Herons have turn out to be one among MLS’s marquee franchises. Now, Mascherano has the possibility to additional elevate the membership’s popularity by including what could be their third trophy in workforce historical past.
