Houston Dynamo get a shot at Messi, Inter Miami in 2023 U.S. Open Cup final

Amine Bassi one-upped Messi’s two assists with three of his own

If Lionel Messi wants another trophy with Inter Miami, he’s going to have to mess with Texas.

Messi and Inter Miami will take on the Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup final, which will take place on September 27 at DRV PNK Stadium.

The Dynamo emerged with a 3-1 extra-time victory after largely dominating a scrappy, tense U.S. Open Cup semifinal with 10-man Real Salt Lake.

Houston will probably want to send a thank-you note to Miami. As the Herons already claimed a CONCACAF Champions Cup place by winning the Leagues Cup, the Dynamo will now follow suit. Miami’s wild penalty kick win over FC Cincinnati means that the Dynamo qualified for continental competition simply by making the final.

The Dynamo certainly seemed to be cruising towards a date with Messi and Miami, capping a dominant first half off with Héctor Herrera’s easy finish after a disastrous giveaway from RSL’s Andrew Brody fell to Amine Bassi (remember that name).

Corey Baird seemed to score an even scrappier goal with what would have been the final kick of the first half, but referee Lukasz Szpala (after a VAR review) found that Baird had been offside earlier in the sequence.

RSL was struggling to offer much of anything, yet stunningly equalized when Anderson Julio leaped up to power a 64th minute header home.

Despite the goal, Houston was all over the visitors, only to find a late winner elusive. That meant extra time on a typically infernal August night in Houston, but the Dynamo’s control of the match meant the hosts had more gas left in the tank.

All Houston needed was someone to put it all together, and Adalberto Carrasquilla seized the moment. The Panama winger took a dish from Bassi before driving into the area to score the eventual winner.

Houston continued to pour it on, eventually finishing the match with 30 shot attempts. RSL, meanwhile, melted down. Center back Brayan Vera was given a second yellow card (later converted to a straight red by VAR) for swiping out at Luís Caicedo, and then appeared to strike Bassi on his way off the field to boot.

Once that minor melee finished up, Bassi had the last laugh, getting his third assist of the night as Caicedo put an exclamation point on Houston’s win.

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