Florida’s Fort Lauderdale – A month ago, Inter Miami’s first MLS title was everything the team could have hoped for. As co-owner David Beckham, Jorge, and Jose Mas embraced him from all sides, his teammates greeted Lionel Messi with wide arms and cheers.
The possibility of Inter Miami winning another championship appeared remote on Wednesday night. Until a strike in the 91st minute of stoppage time gave the audience hope, Messi and fellow former Barcelona player Jordi Alba were absent, nursing unspecified injuries while watching from the Inter Miami bench. Messi excelled.
On Wednesday night at DRV PNK Stadium, the Houston Dynamo defeated Inter Miami 2-1 to win the U.S. Open Cup.
Griffin Dorsey scored in the 24th minute, and Amin Bassi scored a penalty in the 32nd.
“Their finest player was absent. Ben Olsen, coach of the Houston Dynamo, remarked after his other team won the Open Cup for the second time, “But I’m not sobbing for them. “We still defeated a very good team,”
In the opening minute of extra time, Inter Miami’s Joseph Martinez scored, giving the game an additional six minutes. Leo Campana and Facundo Faras both scored goals, but they weren’t enough to reduce the margin.
Although the last three minutes were the most exciting, the damage had already been done. As he observed his team down in the championship, Messi waved to the audience. Inter Miami players left the field as the Dynamo players and coaches celebrated their Open Cup victory.
Messi will play again this year, according to Inter Miami’s coach.
After the setback on Wednesday night, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino indicated through an interpreter that Messi “will definitely play before the end of the season.”
If you’re looking to purchase tickets to see Messi play in the remaining five Inter Miami games of this season, take this information with a grain of salt.
Martino had claimed the day before that Messi only participated in the Open Cup final because it was a final. Messi wouldn’t have taken the field if it had been merely another game.
The following game for Inter Miami is on Saturday at DRV PNK Stadium versus New York City FC.
When asked if Messi will be able to play in the following games for Inter Miami, Martino responded, “We’ll see match by match and see when the medical department clears him to play without risk.”
How did we learn that Messi wouldn’t be participating in the U.S. Open Cup championship?
Alba wasn’t expected to play, continued Martino. However, Messi’s availability wasn’t confirmed until an hour before the game since he failed to board the team bus with his teammates and wasn’t named in the starting lineup.
In the last two months of the Messi era, Martino has talked extensively about the importance of the Open Cup final, hoping that Messi and Alba will be ready and that Inter Miami will have enough rest for Messi to participate in a final and add to his trophy cabinet.
Instead, Inter Miami observed Houston Dynamo enjoy their home-field victory in the Open Cup.
What is going on with Messi?
With five MLS games left, the investigation regarding Messi’s absence from each Inter Miami game this season is still ongoing.
Messi has been battling a persistent, longstanding injury that doesn’t need surgery but hasn’t been made public.
Messi missed four games in September, including Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualification game and three Inter Miami games.
Without Messi, how did Inter Miami perform?
Without Messi, Inter Miami struggled in the first half as the Houston Dynamo quickly built a 2-0 lead.
Martino observed, “I thought it was an extremely fatigued team out there. We have begun to pay for several of the games we have played.
Despite their best attempts, Inter Miami was unable to match Messi’s energy in the second half, which had kept football fans around the world engaged with dramatic finish for the previous two months. There was no longer enough time to win another title by that point.
Since Messi’s debut on July 21st, Inter Miami has played 16 games in 68 days, which serves as a sobering reminder that tiredness has finally set in for all of Inter Miami’s players, including their coach, not just Messi. “We all play matches, and between them, there’s a final,” he remarked. At that point, I believed it was possible. It made sense.
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Houston Dynamo vs. Inter Miami Highlights
Houston won the U.S. Open Cup by defeating Miami.
Final score: Inter Miami 1, Houston Dynamo 2 More action-packed than the entire game were the final three minutes. Inter Miami had numerous opportunities, but ultimately failed. Fekundo Farias missed from the left in the final three minutes of play, and Leo Campana missed with a header after Joseph Martinez scored in stoppage time, bringing the score to 2-1.
Inter Miami ultimately failed in their attempt to win a second championship. And after seeing his side lose in the U.S. Open Cup final without Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, Messi waved to the spectators.
Houston Dynamo score through Joseph Martinez, Inter Miami score one. It’s getting late, and the possibilities are remote. Still, there is time. In the 91st minute, Joseph Martinez scored an extra-time goal to cut Houston Dynamo’s lead to 2-1. The goal gave Inter Miami the advantage they needed to stay in the game and had the crowd at DRV PNK Stadium on the edge of their seats. There is a six-minute stoppage period remaining, and five minutes have already passed.
Houston Dynamo 2, Inter Miami 0 (VAR not used) In the 73rd minute, Nelson Quinones carefully waited on the left before passing to Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender.
Nevertheless, a VAR review revealed that Quinones was offside. With at least 15 minutes left in this 2-0 game, Inter Miami still has a chance to win. In the waning minutes of the U.S. Open Cup final, a 3-0 lead and an easy victory could have been in the cards.
Can Inter Miami win back the game?
After falling behind 2-0, Inter Miami made a comeback in the opening 25 minutes of the second half. But in the second half, Inter Miami picked up the tempo and intensity. When Joseph Martinez entered the game, he attempted three goals. Also attempting with his right foot, Benjamin Kremaschi fired another shot at the goal. Leo Campana made a header attempt. Inter Miami’s attempts in the first 25 minutes of the second half, however, were unsuccessful.
At the half, Houston Dynamo led Inter Miami 2-0. Midway into the U.S. Open Cup final, Inter Miami is down 2-0 without Lionel Messi, and the margin of victory seems greater than it actually is. Houston Dynamo recorded 18 shots in the first half of this game while Inter Miami just got one. In fact, Houston seized a 2-0 lead with two goals in the space of nine minutes when Inter Miami’s Benjamin Kremaschi attempted a shot that sailed over the crossbar in the 42nd minute.
In the 24th and 32nd minutes, respectively, Griffin Dorsey and Amin Bassi scored goals to give their team the lead. Messi and Jordi Alba are not on Inter Miami’s squad because they are both out with unidentified injuries. From the bench, they are observing.
Goal scored by Amin Bassi: Houston Dynamo 2, Inter Miami 0. Houston Dynamo scored twice in a 10-minute period. Captain of Inter Miami DeAndre Yedlin was shown a yellow card following a collision with Nelson Quinones that resulted in the penalty kick. In the 32nd minute, Amin Bassi scored with a kick that deflected off Inter Miami goalie Drake Callender and into the middle of the goal. James Harden, a former Houston Rockets player and minority owner of the Houston Dynamo, jubilated when the score hit 2-0.
Houston Dynamo defeat Inter Miami by a goal by Griffin Dorsey.
In this game, Houston Dynamo opened the scoring.Early on in the U.S. Open Cup final, Griffin Dorsey scored with his right foot to give his club a 1-0 lead over Inter Miami.