The distinction between explicit and allusive divorce terminology can affect more than whether intention must be established. In the Hanafi analysis, divorce effected through appropriate allusive wording can carry consequences associated with irrevocability (baynūnah), so it must not automatically be equated with an explicit revocable divorce.
The order of legal analysis matters: first classify the expression; next determine an allusion's intended sense by intention or context; then assess the type of divorce under the relevant juristic rules.
This is the particular Hanafi doctrinal framework discussed here; other legal schools may reach different results.