Starting XI and Lineup Notes: Columbus vs. St. Louis in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup Final
The tournament's finale kicks off from ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus at 8 p.m ET
LINEUP NOTES
Columbus Crew vs. St. Louis CITY SC
2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final
Oct. 21, 2026
ScottsMiracle-Gro Field; Columbus, Ohio
Pre-Game Coverage: 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
Post-Game Coverage: 10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
Fans can follow the U.S. Open Cup on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky. U.S. Open Cup highlights will be available on U.S. Soccer’s YouTube channel.
Columbus Crew Starting XI (4-4-2)
1-Nicholas Hagen, 7-Dylan Chambost, 8-Santiago Rodríguez, 10-Brais Méndez, 16-Taha Habroune, 18-Malte Amundsen, 21-Anass Zaroury, 23-Mohamed Farsi, 25-Sean Zawadzki (capt.), 31-Steven Moreira, 77-Josef Martínez
Substitutes: 2-Andrés Herrera, 3-Eric Bailly, 11-Brooks Lennon, 17-Sekou Bangoura, 24-Evan Bush, 33-Gonzalo Tapia, 50-Tarun Karumanchi
Not Dressed: 4-Rudy Camacho, 12-Cesar Ruvalcaba, 14-Amar Sejdic, 19-Jamal Thiaré, 20-André Gomes, 22-Tristan Brown, 26-Lautaro Giaccone, 28-Patrick Schulte, 39-Kevin Gbamblé, 46-Chase Adams, 54-Luke Pruter
Interim Head Coach: Laurent Courtois
Our Open Cup Final squad 📋 https://t.co/2TkptZOdtd
— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) October 21, 2026
St. Louis CITY SC Starting XI (3-4-3)
1-Roman Bürki (capt.), 5-Lukas MacNaughton, 6-Conrad Wallem, 8-Chris Durkin, 11-Simon Becher, 14-Tomas Totland, 19-Carlo Holse, 21-Dante Polvara, 24-Daniel Edelman, 32-Timo Baumgartl, 77-Jeong Sangbin
Substitutes: 7-Tomáš Ostrák, 20-Rafael Santos, 27-Fallou Fall, 39-Ben Lundt, 42-Damion Downs, 59-Mykhi Joyner, 99-Jaziel Orozco
Not Dressed: 4-Mbacke Fall, 12-Célio Pompeu, 18-Charles-Emile Brunet, 22-Kyle Hiebert, 23-Alexandru Mățan, 28-Miguel Perez, 29-Palmer Ault, 31-Christian Olivares, 33-Tyson Pearce, 46-Caden Glover, 80-Brendan McSorley, 91-Zach Zengue
Head Coach: Yoann Damet
Our XI for the final 🗞️ #AllForCITY x @opencup https://t.co/iPz42Wj2ab
— X - St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) October 21, 2026
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Eight different St. Louis CITY SC players have scored a goal in this year’s U.S. Open Cup. That total is tied for the most among teams in this year’s competition, alongside Lexington SC and Orlando City SC.
- Columbus forward Josef Martínez scored in the Crew’s Semifinal win over Orlando City SC, bringing his career total to four U.S. Open Cup goals. Three of those four goals came in either the Semifinal or Final, as he scored in both rounds for Inter Miami CF in 2023.
- St. Louis CITY SC has scored multiple goals in six consecutive U.S. Open Cup matches and in seven of its eight all-time matches in the competition. The club’s goals-per-game average of 2.63 (21 goals in eight matches) is the second-highest by any MLS team in U.S. Open Cup history, behind the Miami Fusion (2.67).
- Columbus has won its last three finals against U.S.-based teams, including MLS Cup victories over Seattle Sounders FC in 2020 and LAFC in 2023, as well as a Leagues Cup Final victory over LAFC in 2024. The Crew are 1–2 all-time in U.S. Open Cup Finals, having won in 2002 against the LA Galaxy and lost in 1998 to Chicago Fire FC and in 2010 to Seattle.
- This will be the third all-time meeting between the Columbus Crew and St. Louis CITY SC. The Crew won both previous meetings by 2–1 scores: at home in the 2023 Leagues Cup and on the road during the 2025 MLS regular season.