Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were down and nearly out, one minute away from the first loss of the Messi era.
Messi had his opponent right where he wanted them.
Messi’s left boot found Leo Campana for his second header goal of the game to force extra time, and Inter Miami outdueled FC Cincinnati 5-4 in penalty kicks to win their U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday night.
Inter Miami improves to 8-0 since Messi’s arrival and advances to the U.S. Open Cup final, their second title match after winning the Leagues Cup championship last Saturday.
Josef Martinez scored three minutes into extra time to give Inter Miami its first lead of the game at 3-2. But Yuya Kubo scored in the 113th minute to send it to penalty kicks. Nick Hagglund missed Cincinnati’s final kick, while 18-year-old Miami native and Argentina national Benjamin Cremaschi clinched the victory for Inter Miami.
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Inter Miami will take on the Houston Dynamo FC in the U.S. Open Cup final.
The final will be played on Sept. 27.
Houston defeated Real Salt Lake 3-1 in Wednesday's other U.S. Open Cup semifinal. Tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, the Dynamo scored twice in extra time to pull out the victory.
With Houston's win, Inter Miami will host the U.S. Open Cup final.
You won’t have to wait long to see Messi and Inter Miami in action again.
Inter Miami returns to the pitch Saturday and will visit the New York Red Bulls for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff at Red Bull Arena.
The game will be broadcast on Apple TV.
For the first time in Messi’s Inter Miami career, he was scoreless.
Messi had scored 10 goals in his first seven games, but his scoring streak ended against Cincinnati.
Still, Messi found another way to show his prowess as the sport’s greatest player.
Just when you thought Inter Miami was going to lose its first match in the Messi era, it was Messi whose magical left boot struck again in the 97th minute.
Messi lobbed a left kick into the box, and Campana scored his second header during stoppage time in the final minutes of regulation.
Earlier in the match, Messi tilted his head slightly to the left before a free kick, which found Campana for the first time in the 68th minute.
Cremaschi, the 18-year-old Argentine national and Miami native, was once again instrumental for Inter Miami.
Cremaschi entered the game as a substitute during extra time, and quickly assisted on Martinez’s goal two minutes later to give Inter Miami a 3-2 lead.
But the stakes were even higher once Hagglund missed Cincinnati’s fifth and final penalty kick.
For the second time since Messi joined Inter Miami, Cremaschi scored the game-winning penalty kick. He first did so against FC Dallas on Aug. 6.
“We’re living a dream and killing it,” Cremaschi said after the game while interviewed on CBS’ Golazo Network.
Cincinnati, the best team in the MLS, was one minute away from being the first club to hand Messi and Inter Miami their first defeat.
Cincy fans at TQL Stadium even begun celebrating with a lead for the first 97 minutes of this match.
Argentine midfielder Luciano Acosta scored in the 18th minute, Brandon Vasquez scored a right strike in the 53rd minute as FC Cincinnati held a 2-0 lead for most of the match.
Even after Campana’s first goal and Messi’s first assist, Cincinnati was still in command.
That was until Messi, the Argentine World Cup champion and seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, proved once again why he's the best player in his sport.
Three Inter Miami games have reached the penalty-kick shootout.
And Inter Miami has won all of them.
Their 5-4 edge against Cincinnati comes one game after their 10-9 win to outlast Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup final last Saturday.
Against FC Dallas earlier this month, Messi scored the equalizer to tie it at 4, and Inter Miami won 5-4 in penalty kicks.
This one isn’t over just yet. And we’ve got a tied game once again.
Yuya Kubo scored in the 113rd minute, and FC Cincinnati is now tied with Inter Miami during extra time.
About eight minutes (and any extra time) away from the final whistles, Kubo’s right strike found its way into the back of the net.
Could penalty kicks be on the horizon again for Inter Miami?
Santiago Arias nearly tied this game up for FC Cincinnati during extra time.
Arias’ kick hit the crossbar at the top of the net, and nearly brought FC Cincinnati back into this game.
Alvas Powell missed an attempt at the 100th minute as well for FC Cincinnati.
Four minutes into extra time, and Inter Miami has its first lead of the game.
Josef Martinez scored in the 93rd minute, and FC Cincinnati is now on the ropes.
Martinez’s goal was assisted by Benjamin Cremaschi, two of Inter Miami’s late substitutions in this match.
Just when you thought Inter Miami was going to lose its first match in the Messi era, it was Messi whose magical left boot struck again in the 97th minute.
Messi lobbed a left kick into the box, and Leo Campana scored his second header during extra time in the final minutes of regulation in this match.
Inter Miami was down and out, and FC Cincinnati already began its celebration.
Now, we’re in a tied game going to extra time.
Just minutes after Inter Miami got back into the game, it appeared for a brief second they were out of it once again.
FC Cincinnati almost took a 3-1 lead, but their goal was waved off by officials due to a handball call.
Yuya Kubo touched the ball with his hand after it was kicked into his body following a corner kick.
Kubo later missed a shot on goal in the 73rd minute.
Inter Miami is down, but it isn’t out just yet.
Leonardo Campana nailed a header into the net following a free kick by Messi in the 68th minute.
Messi tilted his head to slightly to the left before his kick, and pumped his fists in the air to celebrate the goal.
Messi and Inter Miami are in danger of their first loss together.
Brandon Vasquez scored a right strike in the 53rd minute, and Inter Miami is down 2-0.
Inter Miami outscored opponents 22-8 in its previous seven games before tonight.
But this U.S. Open Cup semifinal has been a different story so far.
Call it a Leagues Cup hangover. Or just a team too tired following six matches in a 22-day stretch. But FC Cincinnati has jumped on Messi and Inter Miami early.
Inter Miami looks a little fatigued in this match, just four nights after winning the Leagues Cup against Nashville SC on Saturday night.
Messi has yet to take a shot in this match, but Argentine midfield Luciano Acosta scored at the 18-minute mark to give FC Cincinnati its lead.
Aaron Boupendza nearly had a goal just minutes after Acosta’s score, but he was offsides. Boupendza also missed a straight shot in the final minutes of the first half.
Diego Gomez has missed three shots on goal, while Jean Mota was given a yellow card in 31’ for Inter Miami.
Things could change in the second half.
FC Cincinnati is on the board, and Inter Miami is facing a deficit after 18 minutes.
Argentine midfield Luciano Acosta took advantage of a deflected ball and scored off the left goal post and into the net.
Cincy almost took a 2-0 lead minutes later, but Aaron Boupendza was offsides.
The Inter Miami-FC Cincinnati game at TQL Stadium starting at 7 p.m. ET can be streamed on the CBS Sports Golazo Network (available for free on the CBS Sports app and Pluto TV) and Paramount+, with Spanish-language broadcasts available on Telemundo and Peacock.
Former professional soccer player and coach, and now television analyst Ray Hudson will be on the call for CBS Sports Golazo Network for tonight's Inter Miami-FC Cincinnati U.S. Open Cup semifinal game.
Hudson has been a longtime broadcast analyst on games involving Lionel Messi, mostly during his time with FC Barcelona. So much so that there's a delightful compilation of Hudson's very passionate calls of Messi's goals.
If Messi scores tonight, viewers could be in for a treat. Take a look …
A few Cincinnati Bengals stars are on hand to watch FC Cincinnati’s match against Messi and Inter Miami.
Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow, star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and standout defensive end Sam Hubbard were on the pitch before the match began.
And they were supporting their home team, wearing FC Cincinnati jerseys.
A Cincinnati bakery thought it would be a great idea to bake some Messi-themed cookies ahead of tonight’s match.
But they weren’t well received by FC Cincinnati fans.
"Welcome to the Nati! Messi cookies are available at all locations while supplies last," Busken Bakery premiered in a since-deleted Facebook post.
Among the comments before the Facebook post was deleted:
"Sad." "Really Busken?" "Booo!" "Stop!"
More from the Cincinnati Enquirer on Messi-Cookie Gate here.
As expected, Messi is in the starting lineup for tonight's U.S. Open Cup semifinal match.
Here are the starting lineups for both sides:
Messi Mania has lived up to the hype so far, but how has Messi felt about his move to Inter Miami?
Messi held a press conference last week, his first since joining the team, to touch on several topics.
Messi’s family has yet to buy a house they will call a home, and his three children will soon enroll in school for this fall. But so far, they’re happy to be in Miami.
“Today I can tell you that I am very happy with the decision we made,” Messi said last Thursday.
“I’m happy enjoying this new stage, and I’m enjoying the experience of living here in this country.”
Messi scored in the 23rd minute, and Inter Miami needed a 22-kick penalty kick shootout to outlast Nashville SC 1-1 (10-9 in PKs) on Saturday night to become Leagues Cup champions.
Messi was lifted by his Inter Miami teammates on the pitch after the victory.
Messi hugged Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, as their vision to join forces came to fruition.
And Messi gave the captain’s armband to DeAndre Yedlin, the club’s captain before Messi's arrival, so he could raise the trophy high into the sky after their win.
Messi and Inter Miami's seven-game run during the Leagues Cup was impressive to say the least, especially for a team that came together so quickly on the fly with his addition.
Among some of the highlights:
∎ Messi scored a game-winning goal of his Inter Miami debut in the 94th minute.
∎ Messi scored two goals in his first start with Inter Miami against Atlanta United, his first in the eighth minute.
∎ Messi scores 2 goals, overcomes yellow card and jaw injury in his third game, a 3-1 win over Orlando City.
∎ Messi scored two goals, including the equalizer to tie the game at 4 in the 85th minute as Inter Miami advanced past FC Dallas with a 5-3 edge on penalty kicks.
∎ Messi scored in the 86th minute to put the icing on Inter Miami’s 4-0 win over Charlotte FC.
∎ Messi scores as Inter Miami aces tough test in 4-1 win over Philadelphia Union to reach Leagues Cup final.
∎ Messi scores early, Inter Miami outduels Nashville SC in a penalty kick shootout 10-9 in Leagues Cup final.
The winner of the U.S. Open Cup — a team that technically is the national champion of American soccer — earns a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup (the rebranded Concacaf Champions League).
But here’s the thing: Inter Miami already has a bid and a bye straight to the round of 16 in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup thanks to its win in the Leagues Cup final.
If the U.S. Open Cup winner also holds another Concacaf Champions Cup qualification spot, the tournament's runner-up will earn a Concacaf Champions Cup spot. If the U.S. Open Cup runner-up has multiple Concacaf Champions Cup qualification slots, then the next-best MLS club that has accumulated the most regular-season points will earn the slot.
Four MLS teams already have qualified for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup: Inter Miami; Nashville SC (Leagues Cup runner-up); Philadelphia Union (Leagues Cup third-place finisher); and the Vancouver Whitecaps (Canadian Championship winners).
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