Leagues Cup 2025: Inter Miami Advance to Knockout Round Despite Messi’s Absence

Inter Miami CF successfully booked their place in the knockout stage of the 2025 Leagues Cup after a convincing 3-1 victory over Pumas UNAM on Wednesday night in their concluding group stage encounter. The team managed this critical win without the presence of their talismanic captain, Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi, who has been pivotal in the team’s performances this season, was notably absent due to a hamstring injury he picked up during the clash with Necaxa on August 2. The injury prevented him from featuring in the decisive fixture at Chase Stadium.

Although he couldn’t contribute on the field, the Argentine legend was fully engaged throughout the match, visibly celebrating each of Inter Miami’s goals from the sidelines, showing unwavering support for his teammates as they battled through the group finale without his influence on the pitch.

Despite Pumas UNAM drawing first blood early in the match, Inter Miami demonstrated resilience and tactical discipline, eventually overturning the deficit. The equalizer came courtesy of Luis Suárez, followed by a brilliant strike from Rodrigo De Paul, and a finishing goal from Tadeo Allende, sealing the win for the South Florida club.

Under the guidance of coach Javier Mascherano, Inter Miami wrapped up the group stage on eight points. Their performance across all group matches was impressive: beating both Atlas and Pumas, and securing a draw against Necaxa, which was followed by a successful 5-4 penalty shootout that awarded them an extra point, as per the revised competition rules.

This year’s Leagues Cup format introduced a points-based system during the group phase, where clubs earn standings based on match outcomes, including results from penalty shootouts, helping determine their seeding in the league-specific knockout brackets.

It’s worth noting that Inter Miami previously won the first-ever Leagues Cup tournament in 2023, but failed to defend their title in 2024, getting knocked out in the Round of 16 by Columbus Crew. With the current momentum, the team now looks forward to a deeper run in this year’s campaign, potentially reclaiming the title they once held.