The oldest soccer competition in the history of the United States is coming to a close Wednesday evening, with LAFC hosting Sporting Kansas City in the final of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Ninety-six teams started the competition across all levels of American soccer, but we’re now down to two. This cup final features a showdown between two MLS Western Conference rivals: Sporting Kansas City, a storied franchise with multiple Open Cup titles, and LAFC, a recent powerhouse that has reached the MLS Cup finals in the past two years, winning one of them.
Sporting KC’s Peter Vermes is a manager who knows how to win the Open Cup, he’s done it three times in fact, claiming the cup in 2012, 2015 and 2017 with Sporting. Meanwhile, this is LAFC’s first-ever appearance in the USOC final.
Sporting’s MLS campaign hasn’t quite gone to plan in 2024, as they were eliminated from the MLS Playoffs, but they’ve been lights out in the Open Cup. Can they pull off a stunning upset against Olivier Giroud and LAFC? Or will Cherundolo and Co. claim their first silverware of the campaign?
GOAL takes a look at the match ahead.