Messi 100th Goal Lifts Inter Miami to First Campeones Cup Title
The Messi 100th goal Inter Miami milestone arrived on the biggest night of the club’s short history in the Campeones Cup. On Wednesday night at Nu Stadium, Lionel Messi headed Inter Miami into the lead against Cruz Azul, then helped seal a 2-0 victory that delivered the 2026 Michelob ULTRA Campeones Cup and Miami’s first title in the competition.
According to Inter Miami CF’s official match recap, Messi’s opener in the 24th minute was his 100th goal for the club in his 115th appearance. Casemiro added the second from a Messi corner in the 81st minute. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made six saves for a clean sheet as Liga MX’s Cruz Azul pressed without reward.
Key numbers
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Final score | Inter Miami 2-0 Cruz Azul |
| Competition | 2026 Michelob ULTRA Campeones Cup |
| Messi goal | 24′ header (100th Miami goal; 115 appearances) |
| Casemiro goal | 81′ header from Messi corner |
| St. Clair | 6 saves; clean sheet |
| Possession | About 48% Miami / 52% Cruz Azul (club) |
| Shots | 7-18 (club) |
| Club titles | First Campeones Cup; fifth title in club history (Inter Miami phrasing) |
| Messi Miami goals by year | 11 (2023), 23 (2024), 43 (2025), 23 so far in 2026 |
| Messi season assists | 15 all competitions (club) |
| Casemiro goals since arrival | 4th (club) |
How the final unfolded
The competition pairs the prior MLS Cup champion with Mexico’s Campeon de Campeones winner, and the MLS side hosted. Miami needed composure early. Luis Suárez delivered the cross; Messi finished with a header that answered the search question fans had been typing all season: when would the Argentine reach 100 club goals in pink?
Cruz Azul controlled more of the ball (about 52% possession to Miami’s about 48%, per club stats) and outshot the hosts 18-7. St. Clair’s six saves kept the margin intact until Messi’s corner in the 81st minute found Casemiro for a decisive header. It was Casemiro’s fourth goal since his summer arrival, the club said, and it turned a tense one-goal lead into a cup-clinching cushion.
Reuters corroborated the 2-0 scoreline and the milestone framing as coverage spilled into Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. LiveNewsWorld uses the official competition name Campeones Cup throughout.
The 100-goal ledger at Miami
Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023 and has stacked goals at a remarkable rate for a player now 39. The club’s year-by-year split for his Miami tally reads: 11 goals in 2023, 23 in 2024, 43 in 2025, and 23 so far in 2026. Reaching 100 in 115 appearances underlines how central he remains to every Miami trophy chase.
The club also credited Messi with 15 assists across all competitions this season heading into the final, a reminder that the night was not only about the header. His corner for Casemiro’s goal was the practical sequel to the milestone strike.
A title on González’s first night
The win doubled as a debut statement for head coach Cristian “Kily” González, who took charge after visa delays. Reuters quoted González saying Leo had told him he would make him a champion. For a club that treats silverware as part of the Messi-era identity, opening a coaching tenure with a Campeones Cup is as clean a start as Miami could script.
Inter Miami described the result as its first Campeones Cup and the fifth title in club history. That trophy-count phrasing is the club’s own framing and should be read that way if historical tallies are later debated.
Mexican clubs had taken recent editions of the competition before Miami’s breakthrough, which is why the breakthrough narrative matters beyond one night’s scoreboard. Beating Cruz Azul at home puts an MLS Cup holder on the Campeones Cup roll of honor and gives Miami another piece of silverware in a crowded calendar.
What the numbers say about the night
Club match stats paint a game Miami won with efficiency rather than volume. Fewer shots, less possession, and a goalkeeper who refused to blink: that is a classic cup-final profile when a star forward converts the first clear chance and a summer midfielder finishes the set piece.
St. Clair’s clean sheet against an 18-shot Cruz Azul attack may age as quietly as Messi’s header ages loudly. Both were required. Suárez’s service for the opener and Messi’s delivery for the second underline how the veteran core still drives Miami’s biggest evenings.
What happens next
Miami returns to the domestic grind with a new coach already on the board as a cup winner and with Messi’s club ledger reset past a landmark round number. The search demand around Messi’s 100th Inter Miami goal will linger; the lasting sports fact is simpler: Inter Miami are 2026 Campeones Cup champions, 2-0 over Cruz Azul, with Messi and Casemiro on the scoresheet.
For more LiveNewsWorld sports coverage, see the Sports News section. Readers following Messi’s international calendar can also check the site’s 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule explainer, a separate beat from this club-cup final.
Bottom line
Lionel Messi’s 100th Inter Miami goal, a 24th-minute header from Suárez’s cross, set up a 2-0 Campeones Cup final win over Cruz Azul. Casemiro’s 81st-minute header from a Messi corner sealed Miami’s first title in the competition on Cristian González’s debut. The milestone, the clean sheet, and the cup belong to the same night.
