On the morning of August 13 (Vietnam time), Inter Miami suffered a 2-3 defeat to Club Leon in the last match of Leagues Cup 2026. This result caused Lionel Messi's team to only have 3 points after 3 matches and be officially eliminated.
Inter Miami entered the game positively at Nu Stadium and created many chances. In the 42nd minute, Daniel Pinter put the home team ahead after an accurate finish. Inter Miami entered the break with a 1-0 advantage.
Notably, Lionel Messi started the match on the bench on the day he returned to the Inter Miami squad. The Argentine superstar was absent from the previous defeat against Monterrey after returning to Argentina because his father, Mr. Jorge Messi, passed away.
Right at the beginning of the second half, Messi was brought on to replace Pinter. However, the return of the Inter Miami captain did not help the home team maintain the advantage.
Just minutes after Messi appeared, Daniel Arcila scored the equalizer 1-1 for Leon in the 50th minute. Inter Miami immediately responded when Yannick Bright put the home team ahead 2-1 in the 53rd minute.
The game continued to be open. In the 61st minute, Juan Domínguez scored to bring Leon back to equilibrium. In the 83rd minute, Daniel Arcila completed a double, helping the away team take the lead 3-2 for the first time. This was also the decisive goal of the match.
Inter Miami tried to find an equalizer in the final minutes but failed. The home team controlled the ball more and launched 24 shots, including 9 on target, but goalkeeper Leon had 7 saves.
The 2-3 defeat caused Inter Miami to end Phase One with 1 win and 2 losses, winning 3 points. According to the Leagues Cup 2026 format, the 4 MLS teams with the best results will qualify for the quarter-finals. Inter Miami could not break into this group and officially stopped.
The early elimination is a disappointing result for Inter Miami, especially when this team once won the Leagues Cup in 2023 and reached the final last season.
Meanwhile, the match against Leon marked Messi's return after a family upheaval. He was on the bench and was put on the field at the beginning of the second half, but could not help Inter Miami avoid defeat at home.
