Just days after Lionel Messi secured Inter Miami their first-ever trophy, the Argentine superstar will embark on a quest for another as they meet FC Cincinnati in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
Inter Miami reached this point without Messi’s assistance, topping lower-league sides Charleston Battery and Birmingham Legion as well as MLS opposition Nashville SC in earlier rounds.
Yet the club look vastly more potent with Messi and his former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba on the field and will now hope to not only push for the U.S. Open Cup title, but also a historic league comeback as well. Inter Miami sit bottom of the Eastern Conference, with just 11 matches with which to make up a huge 14-point gap to snag a playoff spot.
Prior to that daunting task, however, they must summit another steep mountain in FC Cincinnati, who lead Major League Soccer in points through two-thirds of the season. They were pegged back 3-0 by Columbus Crew over the weekend, but remain a formidable opponent in their own right.
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FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami live stream, TV channel
MORE: Watch Premier League matches live with Fubo in USA
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Telemundo (Spanish) | Fubo, Paramount+, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, CBS Sports Golazo |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| Malaysia | Astro Supersport 2 | Astro Go, sooka |
What time does FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami kick off?
This U.S. Open Cup semifinal match at TQL Stadium kicks off on Wednesday, August 23 at 7pm local time in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Wed, Aug. 23 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Wed, Aug. 23 | 7 p.m. ET |
| UK | Thu, Aug. 24 | 12 a.m. BST |
| Australia | Thu, Aug. 24 | 9 a.m. AEST |
| India | Thu, Aug. 24 | 4:30 a.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Thu, Aug. 24 | 7 a.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Thu, Aug. 24 | 7 a.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Thu, Aug. 24 | 7 a.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Thu, Aug. 24 | 11 a.m. NZST |
FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami projected lineups & team news
An injury to mainstay center-back Yerson Mosquera is a blow to the Cincinnati defense, which was laid bare in their weekend defeat at Columbus Crew. USMNT defender Matt Miazga was also missing from the weekend’s match, suspended for yellow card accumulation, but he should return.
Otherwise, the FC Cincinnati lineup will remain largely unchanged, meaning both sides have a short turnaround for this game.
U.S. international striker Brandon Vazquez scored five goals in three Leagues Cup matches, and has two goals in his two U.S. Open Cup starts, but was held off the scoresheet over the weekend by the Crew.
FC Cincinnati projected starting lineup (3-4-1-2): Celantano (GK) — Murphy, Miazga, Gaddis — Powell, Nwobodo, Moreno, Barreal — L. Acosta — Boupendza, Vazquez.
One of the biggest tests for head coach Gerardo Martino in the coming weeks will be to figure out how to find rest for ageing stars Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba despite the massive importance of every game from here on out.
Being a knockout semifinal, this match’s importance is obvious, but even the league fixtures coming up are all absolutely critical given their gap in the playoff race and limited remaining time with which to engineer a comeback.
There remains a question at the striker position, as Leo Campana has looked bright off the bench in recent matches while Josef Martinez has not provided the spark that Inter Miami will be looking for. Yet to this point, Martino has stuck with Martinez as the starter.
Inter Miami projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Callender (GK) — Yedlin, Kryvtsov, Miller, Alba — Arroyo, Busquets, Cremaschi — Messi, J. Martinez, Taylor.
FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami betting odds & lines
Inter Miami are favorites for this match, understandably so, as no team has yet managed to best them with Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba on the side. Yet FC Cincinnati are clearly given a chance to succeed and advance to the final, with Inter Miami only sporting plus three-way moneyline odds.
While the winner seems to be in question, there’s no debating that the betting market expects goals. The total has been inflated to 3.5, and both teams are widely expected to find the back of the net.
| Cincinnati win (90 mins) |
Draw (90 mins) |
Miami win (90 mins) |
Both teams to score Y / N |
Over / Under 3.5 goals |
CIN advance |
MIA advance |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) |
+170 | +250 | +115 | -225 / +150 | +120 / -165 | +105 | -145 |
| Sports Interaction (Canada) |
+172 | +252 | +113 | -244 / +149 | +118 / -164 | — | — |