Contrary to what you may think after watching the nascent Leagues Cup, there are trophies in United States soccer which have considerable legacies.
No competition on American soil comes close to harboring as great a history as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. In fact, it’s the oldest still-running annual sports tournament in the United States, having first kicked off in 1914 and only taken two years off in its entire lifespan to date (2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
After Lionel Messi kicked off the stateside chapter of his storied career by leading a previously woeful Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup title, he’ll join his new teammates for the semifinal of another attempt at cup triumph.
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Here’s what you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup semifinals of FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami and Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake.
What is the U.S. Open Cup?
For those who follow other soccer leagues, this is the United States’ national association cup. It’s a single-elimination knockout competition involving teams in all three professional levels, as well as a host of amateur clubs which must qualify through the preliminary round. It’s akin to the FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Copa MX, DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia, Copa Argentina… you get the idea.
If Messi is drawing you into the sport for the first time, this is a format with few parallels in sports beyond soccer. This year, 99 teams took part: the 26 MLS clubs based in the U.S. (the three Canadian clubs participate in the Canadian Championship instead), 24 from the second-division USL Championship, 12 from third-division USL League One, nine from third-division NISA (yes, there are two third-division sanctioned leagues in the U.S.), 10 from the national amateur USL League Two, eight from the national amateur NPSL, and 10 local amateur qualifiers.
Teams enter the tournament gradually depending on their stature, with the final eight MLS entrants making the latest arrival in the round of 32 after over half of the field has been eliminated. Last year’s winner was Miami’s in-state rival Orlando City, which fended off second-division Sacramento Republic in the wake of a spying scandal.
Who was Lamar Hunt?
In 1999, the U.S. Open Cup was renamed to honor Lamar Hunt. He’s among the most influential owner/operators in American sports history, serving as the principal founder of both Major League Soccer and the American Football League (which later merged with the NFL). He also founded the club now known as Sporting Kansas City and, at MLS’ lowest point, took control of the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas. Although Hunt passed away in 2006, his family still owns FC Dallas and the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
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Hunt originally fell for the sport in 1962, when he attended a Shamrock Rovers match with his wife before tuning in to the 1966 World Cup final and attending nine of the 11 men’s World Cups that were played between England’s most recent win and his passing. He previously founded the Dallas Tornado in 1967 and brought the team into the then-newly formed NASL years before the arrival of stars like Pelé, Fran Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Gordon Banks and Gerd Muller.
How popular is the U.S. Open Cup?
While it holds prominence in the national soccer landscape as one of the preeminent titles on offer, it hasn’t found an audience far beyond existing fans of domestic soccer. Even before its two-year hiatus, the U.S. Open Cup struggled to garner high broadcast ratings and, at times, would have to show all of its games on YouTube or a streaming partner due to a lack of interest from over-the-air broadcasters.
In May, MLS commissioner Don Garber acknowledged the tournament’s perceived lower quality of competition in a U.S. Soccer board meeting.
“From our perspective, it is a very poor reflection on what it is we’re trying to do with soccer at the highest level. The games are hard to find — I’m telling you as an actual viewer,” Garber said. “The reaction from our ownership, from our team presidents, and even our fans in terms of even being able to find the games, the quality of the games. Some of the games that we’ve been playing in are on subpar fields.
“I appreciate the enthusiasm about it but we need to get better with the U.S. Open Cup. It’s just not the proper reflection of what soccer in America at the professional level needs to be.”
Its most ardent supporters are often those with interest or rooting allegiances below MLS on the domestic soccer pyramid. These games can be vital injections of matchday revenue for lower-division sides, who in turn often provide the tournament with its most memorable moments each year.
How Miami got here
While the team played its way to the bottom of the MLS table before the Leagues Cup break, they did well to make a strong cup run in spite of their league form. They entered in the tournament’s third round among the first wave of MLS participants, being drawn against second-division Miami FC at the USL side’s home venue. A 2-2 match required a penalty shootout, which Inter Miami won 5-3. They then outlasted the Charleston Battery, another second-division foe, for a 1-0 win in Fort Lauderdale to advance to the round of 16.
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Again drawn at home, Miami hosted Nashville SC in what ended up being a prequel to the recent Leagues Cup final. Even without Messi, Miami logged a 2-1 win that proved to be their final victory under former manager Phil Neville before the ex-Lionesses boss was sacked just over one week later. Their first match under interim coach Javier Morales looked to be a tricky one, sending Miami to one of the second-division’s best supported sides, the Birmingham Legion. However, a goal by Argentine striker Nicolás Stefanelli was enough to send Miami through to the semis — an impressive achievement in what had, to that point, been a difficult campaign.
Who else is in the semifinals?
Once again, Miami’s next game appears to provide their toughest matchup yet. The Herons will face off against FC Cincinnati, a side that made worst-to-first turnarounds cool far before Messi began playing his home matches in Fort Lauderdale. After finishing at the bottom of MLS in their first three seasons, Cincy bucked the trend and made a run to the second round of the playoffs in 2022. Even after losing to the Columbus Crew over the weekend, Cincinnati is seven points ahead of St. Louis City SC in the combined regular season MLS table.
The other side of the bracket involves two of MLS’ blue collar sides from the Western Conference. Kicking off 90 minutes later than Miami’s match, the Houston Dynamo will host Real Salt Lake for a spot in the final. Both are in the middle of respectable league campaigns, with RSL sitting third in the West while Houston is up to sixth after a 5-0 win on Sunday.
Where we're at 🕓
*Who ya got? | @opencup #USOC2023 pic.twitter.com/X8KPcuBh0h
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) August 18, 2023
Where and when would the final be held?
The U.S. Open Cup final will be played on Wednesday, September 27 at an as-yet-undetermined time and place. Each semifinalist was involved in a draw to determine the priority ranking for hosting the final. Real Salt Lake is first in the queue, followed successively by Miami, Cincinnati, and Houston.
What’s there to win?
There are a few things on offer beyond the customary bragging rights. The winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a spot in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup (which Miami just claimed via the Leagues Cup) and have the club’s name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy. That trophy (named after its donor, Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar of the family that also has a notable blended Scotch whisky) was used from 1914 to 1979 and is now kept at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. There is a second, larger silver trophy which is paraded out before each final and taken home by its victor.
Players from Brooklyn Hispano and Morgan Strasser (PA) with the Dewar Cup prior to the 1944 Final. #TBT #USOC2015 pic.twitter.com/b5577IxMc5
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) April 16, 2015
As for a potential individual accolade: two players are tied at four goals apiece to share the tournament’s golden boot lead. While second-division striker Josh Dolling’s tournament is over, RSL midfielder Damir Kreilach will play in the semifinal at minimum and look to take pole position in the race.
How to watch
Both semifinals will be streamed in English domestically on Paramount+ or for free through the CBS Sports Golazo Network on CBSSports.com. Spanish-language domestic coverage of Cincinnati-Miami lives with TUDN and the Peacock app, while the Real Salt Lake-Houston matchup is on the Univiso streaming app and Peacock.
HOW you can WATCH both Semifinals » https://t.co/xFvbuDEtEa
STREAM/TV 📺» @CBSSportsGolazo @TelemundoSports @paramountplus @NBCUniverso @peacock (LISTEN/RADIO👂» @fdpradio) pic.twitter.com/lokogaWHJ8
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) August 20, 2023
CBS added that Cincinnati-Miami will also have a special viewing option with a second-screen “Star Cam” to keep focus on Messi throughout the game.
U.S. Soccer has announced that 20 international broadcasters will offer the 2023 semifinals in 100 countries across five continents, although the list of those 20 broadcasters is not readily available on the federation’s website.
(Photo: Roy K. Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)