Osaze De Rosario helps Sounders blank Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 3-0 in Leagues Cup final

SEATTLE (AP) — Osaze De Rosario scored in the 26th minute, and the Seattle Sounders blanked Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 3-0 on Sunday night to win the Leagues Cup.

De Rosario headed a cross from Alex Roldan into the bottom left corner of the net for his fourth goal in Leagues Cup play. Roldan scored on a penalty kick in the 84th minute, and Paul Rothrock found the net in the 89th, to the delight of a sellout crowd of 69,314 at Lumen Field.

By winning the annual tournament featuring clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX, the Sounders earned a bye into the round of 16 in the next CONCACAF Champions Cup. Seattle also became the only MLS team to have won all five annual trophies available to clubs in the league, having already claimed the MLS Cup, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporters' Shield.

A postgame brawl broke out between the teams after Miami was shut out for the first time in Leagues Cup play, and videos posted on social media appeared to show Miami's Luis Suárez spitting on a Sounders staff member.

Messi, who led Miami to the Leagues Cup title in 2023, had plenty of scoring chances, including one off a brilliant pass from Suárez in the 49th minute. But Messi couldn’t convert and was denied a 34th goal in as many Leagues Cup matches.

The Sounders, meanwhile, missed a couple of chances to make it even more lopsided. Jesús Ferreira ripped a shot off the left post in the 39th minute, and Rothrock was stopped on a breakaway in the 72nd.

Second-half substitute Georgi Minoungou drew a foul in the penalty area, leading to Roldan's successful spot kick.

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Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo De Paul has his shot blocked by Seattle Sounders defender Jackson Ragen, bottom center, during the first half of a Leagues Cup final soccer match Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders forward Pedro de la Vega, right, dribbles against Inter Miami defender Gonzalo Lujan, left, during the first half of the Leagues Cup final soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi looks on during the first half of a Leagues Cup final soccer match against the Seattle Sounders, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders midfielder Alex Roldan, right, celebrates scoring on a penalty kick against Inter Miami as teammate Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, left, joins him during the second half of a Leagues Cup final soccer match Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

The Seattle Sounders lift the trophy as they celebrate beating Inter Miami in a Leagues Cup final soccer match Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.

Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.

She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.

The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.

On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.

Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.

American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.

For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.

Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”

Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)