MLS All-Stars Defeat LIGA MX All-Stars, 3-1, in Front of Sold-Out Austin Crowd

Philadelphia Union forward Tai Baribo named MLS All-Star Game MVP, becoming the first player in club history to earn the honor

AUSTIN (Wednesday, July 23, 2025) – The MLS All-Stars defeated the LIGA MX All-Stars, 3-1, in the 2025 MLS All-Star Game at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas on Wednesday evening. With the win, MLS improved their record to 3-1 against LIGA MX in the rivalry matchup, with the previous two victories coming in 2022 and 2021. The MLS All-Stars were led by forward Tai Baribo, who was named the 2025 MLS All-Star Game MVP in front of a sellout crowd of 20,738 at Q2 Stadium.

MEDIA ASSETS FROM THE GAME PHOTO | VIDEO

2025 MLS ALL-STAR GAME – GAME NOTES

Team	1	2	FT
MLS All-Stars	1	2	3
LIGA MX All-Stars	0	1	1

Attendance: 20,738

Scoring Summary:

MLS – Surridge (Bouanga), 28’

WATCH – Denis Bouanga (LAFC) delivered a pinpoint cross to Sam Surridge (Nashville SC), who rose above the defense with a header to give MLS the early lead.

MLS – Baribo (Rossi), 51’

WATCH – Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew) slipped a perfectly weighted ball to Tai Baribo (Philadelphia Union), who slotted it past the ‘keeper to double the MLS lead.

LMX – Mora (Montiel, Zendejas) 64’

WATCH – LIGA MX pulled one back through a strike by 16-year-old sensation Gilberto Mora (Tijuana).

MLS – White (Zinckernagel, Espinoza) 80’

WATCH – Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) finished off a sharp attack from Philip Zinckernagel (Chicago Fire FC) and Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes).

Game Notes:

MLS is now 10-6-5 vs. international competition in the MLS All-Star Game. This was the fourth time facing the LIGA MX All-Stars, and the MLS All-Stars improved their record to 3-1 against their Mexican rivals. MLS’ previous wins were in 2022 (2-1) and in 2021 (1-1, 3-2 win on penalty kicks).
Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge scored the opening goal of the 2025 MLS All-Star Game, becoming the first Nashville player to score in an All-Star Game. Surridge is also the third English-born player to record a goal for MLS in the All-Star Game, joining Dom Dwyer in (Orlando City SC, 2017) and Bradley Wright-Phillips in (New York Red Bulls, 2014).
Surridge’s goal was his 21st across all competitions this season – 18 in MLS, two in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and one in the MLS All-Star Game. Surridge is currently tied atop the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race with 18 goals in the regular season.
The second goal of the night from the Philadelphia Union’s Tai Baribo was assisted by the Columbus Crew’s Diego Rossi. It marked the second-straight All-Star Game in which Rossi produced an assist, becoming the first player to produce an assist in back-to-back MLS All-Star Games since Landon Donovan and Shalrie Joseph in 2004-05.
Baribo scored the game-winning goal on the night, which earned him MLS All-Star Game MVP honors. Baribo became the first Philadelphia Union player to be named MLS All-Star Game MVP. The Israeli international became the first MLS outfield player to be named MVP since Josef Martínez in 2018 (Atlanta United).
The final goal of the match was scored by Vancouver Whitecaps FC and U.S. Men’s National Team forward Brian White, which marked the first goal ever scored by a Vancouver Whitecaps FC player in an MLS All-Star Game. The goal was the first by a U.S. Men’s National Team player in an All-Star Game since Dwyer in 2017.
Players from seven different MLS clubs produced a goal contribution in the match – Chicago Fire FC, Columbus Crew, LAFC, Nashville SC, the Philadelphia Union, the San Jose Earthquakes, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
The MLS All-Stars had nine different birth places in the starting lineup: England (Sam Surridge and Sebastian Berhalter), France (Denis Bouanga), Mexico (Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano), Brazil (Evander), Denmark (Anders Dreyer), Germany (Kai Wagner), Honduras (Andy Najar), New Zealand (Michael Boxall) and the United States (Tristan Blackmon and Brad Stuver). The nine different birth countries tied for the most different birth countries in a single starting XI in MLS All Star game history.
San Diego FC had two players start the MLS All-Star Game in its debut season as an expansion club – Anders Dreyer and Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano. This marked the fourth time multiple players from the same expansion club featured in an All-Star Game starting lineup and the first since LAFC in 2018 (Laurent Ciman and Carlos Vela).
LIGA MX found the back of the net through Tijuana’s Gilberto Mora, with Mora becoming the youngest player in MLS All-Star Game history to score at just 16 years and 282 days old, and the fourth teenager to do so.
The match attracted a sellout crowd of 20,738 at Q2 Stadium.