Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami vs FC Cincinnati live updates | CPT PPP Coverage

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For those who follow other soccer leagues, this is the United States’ national association cup. It’s a single-elimination knockout competition involving teams in all three professional levels, as well as a host of amateur clubs which must qualify through the preliminary round. It’s akin to the FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Copa MX, DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia, Copa Argentina… you get the idea.

If Messi is drawing you into the sport for the first time, this is a format with few parallels in sports beyond soccer. This year, 99 teams took part: the 26 MLS clubs based in the U.S. (the three Canadian clubs participate in the Canadian Championship instead), 24 from the second-division USL Championship, 12 from third-division USL League One, nine from third-division NISA (yes, there are two third-division sanctioned leagues in the U.S.), 10 from the national amateur USL League Two, eight from the national amateur NPSL, and 10 local amateur qualifiers.

Teams enter the tournament gradually depending on their stature, with the final eight MLS entrants making the latest arrival in the round of 32 after over half of the field has been eliminated. Last year’s winner was Miami’s in-state rival Orlando City, which fended off second-division Sacramento Republic in the wake of a spying scandal.