By OkayGoal
From 80 teams back in March to two finalists in October, the 2026 U.S. Open Cup reaches its climax on Wednesday in Columbus.
The Columbus Crew and St. Louis CITY SC face off at Scott Miracle-Gro Field (8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+), with both MLS sides aiming to lift the tournament’s trophy and seal a 2027 berth into the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Columbus might have a home field advantage in its favor, but St. Louis CITY SC have been one of the in-form teams in MLS since the league resumed play in July.
With the 111th edition of the U.S. Open Cup set to conclude on Wednesday, here is a closer look at the two finalists and the matchup ahead:
Road to the Final
The Crew have earned four regulation victories en route to Wednesday’s Final, defeating two USL League One sides and two MLS clubs along the way.
April saw Columbus defeat Richmond Kickers 3-0 away from home before defeating One Knoxville SC 4-1 two weeks later.
A Max Arftsen winning goal propelled the Crew past NYCFC 1-0 in mid-May, sending them to the semifinals. Josef Martinez and Brais Mendez both scored in September’s 2-1 semifinal triumph over Orlando City SC.
Overall, the Crew have won five of their last six matches in all competitions, with three of those wins coming against teams currently above the red line in the Eastern Conference. Their lone defeat over that span came against Orlando City back on October 10.
As for St. Louis CITY SC, they too kicked off their U.S. Open Cup campaign in the Round of 32 with a dominant 4-0 victory against USL Championship side FC Tulsa. Two weeks later, Yoann Damet’s squad defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 away from home, using second-half goals from Tomas Totland and Eduard Lowen to cap off an emphatic comeback.
Marcel Hartel and Ben Lundt played heroes in the quarterfinal round, helping St. Louis CITY SC advance past the Houston Dynamo 4-2 on penalty kicks. Hartel scored twice in the 2-2 scoreline before Lundt delivered two key penalty-kick saves in the shootout after replacing the injured Roman Burki in the first half.
A third MLS club met the sword against St. Louis in this season’s Open Cup as Damet’s men breezed past the Colorado Rapids 3-0 in the semifinals. Sang-Bin Jeong opened the scoring in the first half before Simon Becher and Alexandru Matan added insurance goals to ice their spot into the final.
Seeking a first trophy in their seven-year history, St. Louis CITY SC sits second in the Western Conference on 51 points. Thanks in large part to a league record 21-match unbeaten run, the Missouri-based club has already clinched a playoff berth despite seeing that streak end last Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Minnesota United.
Players to Watch
Columbus Crew – Patrick Schulte, Josef Martinez, Sean Zawadzki, Mo Farsi, Brais Mendez.
St. Louis CITY SC – Carlo Holse, Simon Becher, Sang-Bin Jeong, Roman Burki, Timo Baumgartl.
What Are They Saying
Crew forward Josef Martinez on Open Cup triumph opportunity after inconsistent league season – “We have to recognize that this is an opportunity to turn on the little bit of a struggle season; this is the opportunity to win something. I have had the opportunity to win one time; I lost one in Miami, and this is my third one. So, it’s special when you have a final. I don’t remember how many players have the opportunity to play that.”
St. Louis CITY SC goalkeeper Roman Burki on the team’s turnaround since the Chicago victory – “I think something happened. We worked hard. We started from the bottom. We were not happy where we were at the beginning of the season, and we worked very hard, and we got rewarded.”