The 2023 US Open Cup final was played between Miami Internacional and Houston Dynamo. The match was Miami's second title in franchise history, but Messi was out on playing due to injury, along with Alba. In terms of starters, Martino fielded a 433 attacking formation, with Farias, Campana and Robert Taylor forming an attacking trident, while Houston responded with 4231.
After the opening, Internacional Miami had the upper possession, but it was Houston Dynamo who attacked more aggressively. In the opening 11 minutes, Houston Dynamo played a sharp counterattack, Geniones took the ball on the left and cut inside the big penalty area, and then got up and shot on goal, Miller fell to block and defuse the danger; In the 12th minute, Franco Escobar was shown a yellow card for bringing down Cremaskie; In the 15th minute, Houston counterattacked again, Geneones burst into the Miami penalty area again to shoot from a small angle, and the ball was saved by Callender;
In the 16th minute, Klivesov received a yellow card for a tactical foul on the halfway line; In the 18th minute, Houston threatened again, Geniones broke through the cross from the left, and Baird headed high in the middle; In the 25th minute, Houston's counter-attack finally scored. Dorsey scored with a small-angle shot from the right side of the box, and Internacional Miami was 1-0 down; Interestingly, after conceding the goal, the broadcast camera directly focused on Messi and Alba on the bench;
In the 33rd minute, Internacional Miami was hit again. Yedrin's foul on a tackle in the box, the referee awarded a penalty, Brazil hit the penalty, 2-0; in the 37th minute, Hector Herrera fired from distance outside the penalty area, the ball was slightly deflected; It wasn't until the 42nd minute that Internacional Miami had the first chance to shoot, Campana made the ball inside the big penalty area line, Kremarski got up and shot from distance, the ball went high; In the 45th minute, Houston counterattacked again, and Carraskilia's shot was deflected;
At half-time, Internacional Miami trailed 2-0. According to half-time statistics, Miami International has 50% possession, but there is only 1 shot opportunity and 0 shots on target; Houston Dynamo had a total of 18 shots on goal and five on target. Without Messi, Miami International completely returned to the role of the Eastern Fishbelly, and was comprehensively suppressed by opponents at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.
Yibian fought again, Martino made 2 consecutive substitutions. Arroyo and Joseph Martinez came on, replacing Diego Gomez and Robert Taylor. After the substitution, the Miami International scene improved, but it was not enough to change the scoreline.
In the 57th minute, Internacional Miami took a set-piece in front and Joseph Martinez slid past the goal with a close-range header; In the 60th minute, Campana crossed in seconds, but unfortunately Joseph Martinez fell while stopping the ball; In the 67th minute, active Joseph Martinez burst into the left side of the Houston penalty area to shoot, but unfortunately it was deflected; In the 75th minute, Houston scored with a counterattack, and the referee, after watching the VAR, determined that the offside was the first and the goal was invalidated;
In the 91st minute, Farias assisted Joseph Martinez to pull one goal back! With 5 minutes to go, will there be a miracle for Internacional Miami without Messi? The final score of 1-2 remained until the final whistle, and in this final without Messi, Miami Internacian lost to Houston Dynamo and missed the second title in the team's history.