One way or another, history will be made on Wednesday at the US Open Cup as either the Birmingham Legion or Inter Miami will book a place in the semi-finals for the first time at Protective Stadium in Alabama.
The Legion took out MLS side Charlotte FC 1-0 in the round of 16 to get to this stage, while the Herons netted twice in the second half, edging Nashville SC 2-1.
Match preview
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One of the best stories at the US Open Cup this year has to be the small club from Birmingham, who are three matches away from becoming the first team from the state of Alabama to lift this trophy.
Perhaps most remarkable about their run at this tournament is that they have been wildly inconsistent in the USL Championship, currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, losing five consecutive encounters versus second-tier sides.
Before the start of 2023, this team had never made it beyond the third round of this competition, so it is safe to say that Tom Soehn's men have exceeded expectations.
After narrowly advancing beyond the third round on penalties versus Chattanooga FC, the Legion have cleaned up their defensive shape, posting back-to-back shutouts at home to Memphis 901 (3-0) and Charlotte.
They have emerged victorious in two of their previous three matches in all competitions when scoring first, with both triumphs coming at the US Open Cup.
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The Javier Morales era as interim coach at Inter Miami began on a losing note as they managed just one shot on target, falling 2-1 to DC United.
Morales inherits a messy situation in South Beach, with the Herons currently on a five-match losing run in the MLS regular season.
Four of those defeats were by a single goal, as Miami have conceded the opener in each of those defeats while winning four consecutive fixtures in all competitions when scoring first.
Inter Miami have got through by the skin of their teeth at the US Open Cup, coming back twice against Miami FC before advancing on penalties, then hanging onto to a pair of narrow victories versus Charleston (1-0) and Nashville.
At the moment, they sit dead last in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer with just 15 points, losing six of their seven domestic affairs away from home.
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Team News
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We saw three changes to the Birmingham starting 11 over the weekend when they lost 1-0 to Detroit City FC, with Matt Van Oekel, Moses Nyarko and Ben Reveno replacing Trevor Spangenberg, Alex Crognale and Gabriel Alves.
Kasim Prosper had their lone strike when they defeated Charlotte in the previous round, as he was set up beautifully by Juan Agudelo, while Spangenberg made four stops for the clean sheet.
Enzo Martinez leads them with five goals in the USL Championship as he, Agueldo and Tyler Pasher netted in their round of 32 triumph against Memphis.
Corentin Jean will be questionable for the Herons because of a sore knee, as will Robbie Robinson, who is dealing with a calf strain, Rodolfo Pizarro is recovering from a sore hamstring, Jean Mota has an issue with his knee and Gregore remains out because of a Lisfranc injury.
Franco Negri gave them a second-half advantage, while Nicolas Stefanelli put home the winner shortly after Alex Muyl had drawn Nashville level in their round of 16 clash at the US Open Cup.
Nick Marsman has started the last two US Open Cup games between the sticks in place of first-choice keeper Drake Callender, who was in goal when they defeated Miami FC in a shootout in that third-round encounter, when Shanyder Borgelin and Ryan Sailor both found the mark during the 120 minutes of action.
Birmingham Legion possible starting lineup:
Spangenberg; Smith, Crognale, Reveno, Nyarko; Corcoran, Asiedu; Prosper, Martinez, Nwegbo; Agudelo
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Marsman; Yedlin, Kryvtsov, Miller; Azcona, Fray, Arroyo, Taylor, Negri; Campana, Martinez
We say: Birmingham Legion 0-1 Inter Miami
As bad as the Herons have been in MLS of late, Birmingham have been equally inconsistent and poor in the USL Championship, and players like Leonardo Campana and Josef Martinez have a lot more quality than most who feature in the second-tier of American soccer.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
