MIAMI — Lionel Messi scored twice in his first Inter Miami start since playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final for Argentina, powering the Herons to a 4-2 win over Atlético de San Luis and setting the stage for a blockbuster Leagues Cup clash against CF Monterrey at Nu Stadium.
Messi, the Leagues Cup 2023 MVP and the tournament’s joint all-time leading goalscorer with 14 goals, also set up Micael’s headed goal in the rout. Telasco Segovia tallied Miami’s other goal, while 22-year-old homegrown defender Noah Allen provided a hat trick of assists. The win puts Inter Miami at 3 points (1W-0L-0D), fifth in the MLS Leagues Cup table, as the club chases a third Leagues Cup final appearance in four seasons.
The Herons will be without suspended striker Luis Suárez, and fellow forwards Germán Berterame and Matteo Silvetti face injury concerns — thinning a roster that has otherwise been bolstered by star additions. Rodrigo De Paul, described as “Messi’s bodyguard” for club and country, has posted 4 goals and 8 assists and is enjoying his first full season with Miami after scoring the game-winning goal in last year’s MLS Cup. Casemiro, the most recent superstar to sign for Miami, brings five UEFA Champions League titles from a storied run with Real Madrid.
Inter Miami have stacked hardware since Messi’s stateside arrival, capturing the club’s first-ever trophy as Leagues Cup 2023 champions, followed by the Supporters’ Shield in 2024 and MLS Cup in 2025.
Monterrey enter the match ninth in the LIGA MX Leagues Cup table with 0 points (0W-1L-0D) after falling 2-1 to Orlando City, where French star Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring and Tyrese Spicer converted a penalty to seal the result. Former Chicago Fire FC standout Hugo Cuypers, who departed MLS as the joint-Golden Boot leader this season, netted his first goal for Monterrey with a late tally. Lucas Ocampos, LIGA MX’s current top scorer, has four goals in Monterrey’s first three games of the season, while recent addition Diego Rossi, a former MLS Golden Boot winner with LAFC in 2019, has 1 goal and 1 assist in three LIGA MX appearances. Club captain Jesús Corona is in his second stint with his boyhood club after spending a decade in Europe.
The matchup carries history. Monterrey knocked the Herons out of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup at the quarterfinal stage, 5-2 on aggregate, in the only previous meeting between the two clubs. Rayados have lifted the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2019 and 2021 and earned LIGA MX’s best-ever Leagues Cup finish in 2023, placing fourth following a 3-0 loss against the Philadelphia Union in the Third-Place Match.
In Phase One, each team plays three matches against opponents from the opposite league, with the top four clubs from each league-specific table advancing to the quarterfinals.