[Lionel Messi@!]**FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami CF Live Free Streaming Online TV Broadcast 23 Aug 2023
Watch FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami live stream, TV channel, lineups, odds for Messi in US Open Cup. Inter Miami, led by Lionel Messi, faces FC Cincinnati in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 (8/23/23) at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: U.S. Open Cup semifinals
Who: Inter Miami vs. FC Cincinnati
When: Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: TQL Stadium
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.
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
Lionel Messi keeps scoring goals, and Inter Miami keeps winning games.
Messi ripped a shot from 30 yards past three Philadelphia defenders in the 20th minute that made fans who paid a record price for soccer tickets in the Philly area rejoice, and Inter Miami beat the Union 4-1 in a Leagues Cup semifinal on Tuesday night.
Major League Soccer is Messi’s league now.
Messi exchanged jerseys with fellow Argentinian and Union forward Julián Carranza, then skipped out on the traditional postgame interview and instead saved his message for his 483 million Instagram followers.
“We worked our way to the finals and we made it!!! We’re still on the last step,” he wrote.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner scored his ninth goal in six matches with his new team in front of a crowd that pushed 20,000 fans, with ticket prices soaring past $1,000 on the secondary market.
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.
Despite Miami's dominance, the number of games on their legs could give Cincinnati an advantage if they can strike quickly. Brandon Vazquez and Luciano Acosta are among the best attackers in the league and could give Inter Miami's defense some serious trouble. On Saturday it took a 10-9 shootout for Messi and company to lift the Leagues Cup trophy, and they faced a semifinal before that that was more difficult than it seemed. Sure they won 4-1 over Philadelphia, but the Union held the team to five total shots.
It's true that Messi has steamrolled the Major League soccer teams he's played against, but on the whole the better MLS sides have been able to hang in there against Miami, and it's taken some inspired work by keeper Drake Callendar (the man who also scored the Leagues Cup winning penalty) to keep Miami from leaking goals at the other end. The question is whether Cincinnati can take advantage.
No team has stopped Messi yet but Cincinnati would do well to take a page out of Nasville's book. Able to clog the midfield and hurt Miami from set pieces, Nashville were the only team to hold the Herons scoreless for over 20 minutes of a match. Even with injuries in defense, Cincinnati can still do that and Acosta is one of the best midfielders from dead-ball scenarios in the league.
How Miami respond to potentially tired legs will be the biggest question heading into the match but if they can play their game, few teams can stop them. They do have to make sure not to look too much into always feeding Messi in the match as the team can overlook runs from other players but when Miami are doing so well currently, any adjustments needed are minor ones.
In his remarks to reporters, Martino also touched on how Miami’s run through the Leagues Cup changed his game plan in terms of building chemistry between Miami’s newcomers and existing players.