Inter Miami II begins Open Cup quest against Miami United, 7 p.m. tonight at Chase Stadium | OneFootball

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest, and arguably most prestigious, soccer competition in the United States. It's our equivalent to England's FA Cup, Spain's Copa del Rey, or Germany's DFB-Pokal. These tournaments -- domestic cups -- invite all comers to compete for their nation's club championship. Yeah, they were a much bigger deal before Really Big Money hyper-inflated the top professional leagues but, for many lower-level clubs around the world, the domestic cup is there Olympics, their World Cup. That's what makes them so much fun.

And that's why Inter Miami II, the Herons' developmental team that competes in MLS Next Pro (a third-tier league in U.S. Soccer's pyramid), will host Miami United of the fourth-tier United Premier Soccer League in a first-round match that kicks off at 7 p.m. ET at Chase Stadium; if you're in the area, head over there. Tickets are almost certainly available.

A couple of years ago, Major League Soccer (which dreams of being a Really Big Money soccer monopoly) and Liga MX, Mexico's top division, partnered to create the Leagues Cup, a money-making enterprise pitting their clubs against one another in yet another non-league competition (Inter Miami won the first Leagues Cup championship in 2023), by the way, in quite dramatic fashion). But a result of Leagues Cup was MLS' decision to pull as many of its clubs' first teams as possible out of the Open Cup.

To the U.S. Soccer Federation's credit, it fought back, a little. MLS agreed to enter some of its first teams and some developmental teams. Yes, MLS has dominated the Open Cup, winning all but once since 1996, but I don't know how you can pretend the Open Cup is a national championship when the nation's best teams don't play. But that's a story for another day.

Bailey Sparks, Inter Miami's first pick in the 2025 MLS Super Draft, dribbles while playing for the U.S. Men's Youth National Team. Sparks, a midfielder, is expected to start for Inter Miami II tonight in a first-round U.S. Open Cup match against Miami United. | Roy K. Miller/ISI Photos/GettyImages

Inter Miami II

First-year head coach Cristian “Lobo” Ledesma leads the young Herons, who are 0-1-1 with a single point after the first two Next Pro matches of the season.

Midfielder Bailey Sparks, who played college soccer at Southern Methodist University in Texas, was Inter Miami’s first pick in the 2025 Super Draft (second round, 52nd overall). He has started both matches for Inter II. Expect Ledesma to start Matias Marin in goal; Alejo Ristano, Tyler Hall, Giovanni Ferraina and César Abadía-Reda on the backline; Alejandro Flores, Ricardo Montenegro, Sparks and Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida in midfield; and two of Lovends Delinois, Cristian Ortiz and Daniel Pinter at the front.

Miami United

Miami United was founded in 2012 and claims to be the city’s oldest current club; United has adopted the nickname El Equipo del Pueblo — “the people’s team.”

The People's Team began play in the UPSL Florida South division in 2024 and is coached by Claudio Frean. It ran undefeated through the 14-team division (which includes Inter Miami Academy) before losing in the playoffs last year and has started 2025 with a 3-1 win against Pinecrest Premier SC. It defeated Celebration OFC Barca 2-0 in February to win its second-straight Florida Regional Cup title.

Frean is optimistic about United’s chances against Inter Miami II.

“The team we have right now is one of the strongest we’ve ever assembled, and one of the best I’ve coached,” Frean said in an article for premier.upsl.com. “…We want to win all we can this season and make a strong run in the national playoffs and the U.S. Open Cup. We were focused and worked very hard all this week to win (the Florida Regional Cup), and now, we will bring that same mindset into the new season and other competitions.”

Robertino Insua, 30, and Diego “Cachete” Morales, 38, both from Argentina, anchor United’s midfield. Insua scored twice for United against Pinecrest.

United has been a regular Open Cup competitor since 2015. The People’s Team claimed upset wins in 2024 against Chattanooga FC (1-0) and Club Lyon (2-0) before losing to Memphis 901 (2-0) in the third round.

Inter Miami played for the Open Cup championship in 2023, losing 2-1 to the Houston Dynamo. The Herons didn't enter the 2024 edition.