Columbus Crew and St. Louis CITY SC meet in the U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus, Ohio, with kickoff at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+. St. Louis CITY SC will pursue its first major trophy in a city that has not won the U.S. Open Cup in 38 years.
The match represents more than a single game for St. Louis. According to Goal.com, no city has more U.S. Open Cup success than St. Louis, and the sport has shaped the city's identity for over 150 years. Dave Lange, a coach, author and historian who has chronicled St. Louis's soccer history, said the city carries a distinct soccer culture that sets it apart from other American cities.
A century and a half of soccer roots
Soccer arrived in St. Louis in 1875 with a charity game between the Blondes and the Brunettes, according to Goal.com. The sport's real growth came through Catholic parishes in the late 19th century, which used soccer to unite immigrant communities from Europe. The first organized league in St. Louis began in 1893.
This parish-based system created something unique in American soccer. Lange told Goal.com that men would play and teach the sport to their kids, who would grow up and teach it to their own children. "It went on and on, generation after generation, becoming a fabric of growing up in St. Louis. That was what separated St. Louis from other cities," Lange said.
The sport became accessible to working families in ways others were not. Jeff Robben, a former goalkeeper and member of the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame, said that soccer was "the sport of the middle class. It was relatively inexpensive for parents to have their kids play," according to Goal.com. This affordability, combined with the city's cultural embrace of the game, embedded soccer deeply into St. Louis life across generations.
St. Louis's identity in the American game
St. Louis has produced significant World Cup veterans and national team talent, according to Goal.com. The city's soccer legacy runs through the 1-2-3 Club, a collection of legendary sports figures that meets regularly to discuss St. Louis sports history. These gatherings preserve and debate the stories that have defined the city's athletic identity.
Lange emphasized the pride that comes with representing St. Louis in soccer. "It's always been a badge of pride to represent St. Louis in soccer," he told Goal.com. "There's always this us-against-them mentality that also runs through the story of St. Louis soccer. We're a St. Louis team with St. Louis players."
Tonight's lineups and broadcast details
St. Louis CITY SC will field the following starting XI, according to U.S. Soccer: Roman Bürki (captain), Lukas MacNaughton, Conrad Wallem, Chris Durkin, Simon Becher, Tomas Totland, Carlo Holse, Dante Polvara, Daniel Edelman, Timo Baumgartl, and Jeong Sangbin.
Columbus Crew's starting lineup includes Nicholas Hagen, Dylan Chambost, Santiago Rodríguez, Brais Méndez, Taha Habroune, Malte Amundsen, Anass Zaroury, Mohamed Farsi, Sean Zawadzki (captain), Steven Moreira, and Josef Martínez, according to U.S. Soccer.
The match will air on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET, with post-game coverage running at 10 p.m. ET on the same platforms. U.S. Open Cup highlights will be available on U.S. Soccer's YouTube channel.