We’re down to the wire, folks.
The Fourth and Final Qualifying Round of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will send 16 teams to next year’s Tournament Proper. The arithmetic is simple for the 32 participating sides on November 22 and 23: Win and You’re In.
WIN AND WE’RE IN
— Ballard FC (@GoBallardFC) November 18, 2025
It’s all business this week as we need one more win this Saturday to make it to the @opencup for the third year in a row.#BallardFC | #UpTheBridges pic.twitter.com/fye2lOokXo
These 32 survivors, whittled down from a record-smashing 145 original amateur entrants, include seven clubs aiming to reach the Tournament Proper for a second year running (Ballard FC, CD Faialense, Harbor City FC, Miami United FC, NY Renegades FC, Southern Indiana FC and Virginia Dream FC).
The Final Qualifying Round, with participating teams from 19 different states, will be played from coast to coast in a single-elimination format, as is customary with every Open Cup game whether Qualifier or in the Tournament Proper. The weekend’s action kicks off with seven games on Saturday, Nov. 22 and finishes up on Sunday, Nov. 23 with the remaining nine.
Ballard FC, amateur powers from the lovely Seattle neighborhood that gives the club its name, are on the cusp of reaching the Tournament Proper for the third time in a row. Their big challenge, and this goes for all teams from USL League Two (which plays exclusively in the summer with most players coming from the college ranks) is putting together a squad to compete in these Qualifying Rounds.
The Washingtonians solved this problem in the previous round by tapping a few retired pros in the Pacific Northwest to lend a helping hand. Up against a dangerous Valley 559 FC, from Fresno, CA, in this Final Round, they’ll have to get the job done without former MLS standout midfielder Kelyn Rowe, who played in the previous round but who ruptured his achilles tendon in light training just days before the all-or-nothing Fourth Rounder.
“I guess I’m officially retired-retired now,” said the former New England Revolution and Sporting Kansas City man. “I love the Open Cup and it’s awesome to see so many young guys on their way up – giving it their all to make it.”
All of us here at the Open Cup send our wishes to Kelyn for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.
On the bright side for Ballard, they’ll still be able to rely on Lamar Neagle. The two-time Open Cup Champion (with MLS’ Sounders) and Ballard FC co-founder scored twice against fellow Seattleites Sharktopus FC in a 5-1 rout last time out.
Of the 14 teams in action on Saturday, two have deep histories going back to the ethnic leagues of old that dominated American Soccer, and the U.S. Open Cup, in the middle of the last century.
Croatia Cleveland, founded in 1957, reached the 1975 Open Cup Semifinal and are looking to get back to the big-time with a fresh crop of young standouts and veteran campaigners. In Michael Sesar’s squad, who’ll take on a formidable Steel City FC who reached the Tournament Proper in 2024, are two grandsons of Anton Bruketa, who was one win away from an Open Cup Final with the Croatians 50 years ago.
“We’ve been talking about a return to the U.S. Open Cup for a long time,” said Sesar, 53, who led the now-defunct amateurs AFC Cleveland in the 2017 Open Cup. “We’ve got a good group who’ve been together a long time and this is a chance to show what we can do and the kind of heritage and history we have here.”
CD Faialense, of Cambridge, MA – across the Charles River from Boston – don’t have as much Open Cup legend and lore to draw on. But the club, with roots in a tiny island in the Azores, are a powerhouse team in the Bay State Soccer League and are looking for a return to the Tournament Proper with only New Hampshire’s FC Lonestar Gpse standing in their way.
“Every player on our roster right now is a former Division-One college player – a lot of top guys fresh out of that competitive environment,” said Paul Correia, the second-generation CD Faialense club member now in charge of the first team. “We’re looking to make a breakthrough.”
Also in action on Saturday is Southern Indiana FC. The UPSL new boys, who made their Open Cup debut in the 2025 edition, host Briar United FC in New Albany in search of a return to the big party. MSI Pro open their doors in Maryland to Virginia Dream, the fashionable UPSL club from Falls Church, Virginia who also reached their first Open Cup last year.
Saturday’s games wrap up out west with Next Level Soccer taking on Azteca FC in Arizona in a game with a chance of a cameo by former USMNT, MLS and Club America standout Edgar Castillo, who helped Denver-area Azteca reach the Tournament Proper in 2024. In California, Laguna United FC hosts high-flying San Diego Internacional to round out the first day of the Final Round.
Chicago House, the club founded by Open Cup evangelist and American soccer pioneer Peter Wilt, take aim at a return to the Open Cup after missing out on the 2025 edition. In front of them is a formidable road test against a BOHFS St. Louis side that will stretch the resolve of long-time House captain AR Smith and younger standouts like goalkeeper Ryan Grady and forward Nico Williams.
“These guys train four times a week and they’ve got to run to classes or work afterward. The standards here are very high,” said Shannon Seymour, the former Chicago House midfielder who’s now the first-team coach. “There’s so much culture and talent here in the city [of Chicago].”
Miami United FC have massive Open Cup pedigree, having reached the Tournament Proper seven times previously and pulling off Cupsets in both 2024 and 2025 with wins over professional teams in the early rounds. Still led by ace striker Robertino Insua, top scorer in last year’s Qualifying Rounds, the Miamians will give Boynton Beach’s Badgers FC (UPSL) all they can handle and more.
There are six competing Florida teams in total. Miami-area Red Force take on Orlando’s City Soccer FC in an all-Sunshine State affair and recent qualifiers FC America CFL Spurs and Harbor City FC also squaring off in an all-FLA Derby.
There’s a pair of games in the Northeast worth considering on Sunday. The NY Renegades, who’ve been on fire in the previous Qualifying Rounds, sending Lansdowne Yonkers out 5-3, will meet Zum Schnieder FC at NYC’s Jack McManus Field. The second test involving an NYC-adjacent club sees Oaklyn United FC host SC Vistula Garfield, the North Jersey boys with Polish roots and a core of local talent to draw on.
“North Jersey is filled with talent,” said the 43-year-old Chris Karcz, the player-coach who scored for Vistula in the previous round. “A lot of the guys who grew up around here come back after college and join up with us.”
THIS SUNDAY
— Denton Diablos FC (@DentonDiablos) November 20, 2025
2026 @opencup qualifications finishes Sunday!! Win and we’re in! A shot to play a professional team!
@opencup
UNT Soccer Stadium
6:00PM kickoff
Diablos YouTube page
https://t.co/oq6OP4MxHa
Come out, wear white, & support our 2026 Open Cup run! pic.twitter.com/Tu5ulaztys
Down Texas way, the 2021 NSPL-Champion Denton Diablos welcome ASC New Stars while Georgia’s Kalonji Pro-Profile take on Potros FC. Sunday’s nine games wrap up late on the west coast with San Francisco’s historic Olympic Club traveling east to take on San Ramon FC in Contra Costa County.
The 16 winners of the Final Qualifying Round will join the full field of 32 Open Division participants that will take part in next spring’s First Round of the 2026 Tournament Proper.
Jonah Fontela is editor-in-chief of usopencup.com. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.