Major League Soccer said Thursday it plans "a significant announcement about the future of soccer in Cincinnati" on Tuesday — the language that the league has previously used to signal an expansion team decision.

That means Detroit and Sacramento, the remaining finalist markets for this round of expansion, failed to land a team.

A message was left for Detroit bid consortium, which was led by billionaires Dan Gilbert and Tom Gores along with the Ford family. They have not previously said formally if they would continue to seek an MLS club if Detroit wasn't awarded one is this round.

The Fords own the Detroit Lions and operate Ford Field, the domed NFL stadium that the Detroit MLS bid opted to use as a home field for the expansion team — a change made late in the bid process from the original plan announced in 2016 to construct a $1 billion soccer-specific stadium and mixed-use project at the site of the unfinished Wayne County jail in downtown Detroit.

Speculation has been rampant that the change doomed Detroit's bid because MLS has been firm on its preference for new teams to have open-air soccer-specific stadiums.

The Detroit bid backers insisted Ford Field could be appropriately repurposed for soccer crowds.

Dan Courtemanche, MLS’ executive vice president for communications, declined to comment on Detroit’s bid status, saying only via email Thursday evening that the league would provide an update on Tuesday.

MLS awarded an expansion team to Nashville in December as part of an ongoing plan to expand by four markets to eventually reach 28 clubs by 2022. It was expected that the league would award two teams in December, and another two later in 2018 or after, but after the Nashville announcement the league delayed the next market decision while it sought additional information from Detroit, Cincinnati and Sacramento.

Questions lingered about Detroit's stadium plan and fan support for MLS in the market, while Sacramento lost its deep-pocket backers. Cincinnati emerged as the front-runner with its bid led by minor league team Cincinnati FC, which averaged more than 20,000 fans per game last year. Billionaire Carl Lindner III owns the club and heads Cincinnati's expansion team bid.

MLS said Linder will be at Tuesday's announcement along with MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding.

In the time since Nashville got its team, Cincinnati sorted out its stadium financing and location plans.

Detroit automatically is a finalist, with Sacramento, for the final two expansion cities. MLS hasn't said when those final two slots will be filled.

Twelve markets submitted expansion bids in January 2017, and Detroit was among the four finalist cities the league unveiled on Nov. 29. The four cities formally pitched themselves to MLS at the league's New York headquarters in December, with Nashville quickly getting the nod.

The eight cities that didn't make the finalist cut in November — Charlotte, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa/St. Petersburg — also are finalists for the final two expansion markets, MLS has said. It's unclear if all of those cities will continue their bids.

Nashville and Cincinnati will pay a $150 million expansion fee to join the league. The fee for the final two slots hasn't been determined.

Separately, Miami was awarded an expansion team in January in a process begun four years ago with soccer superstar David Beckham.

Prior to Nashville, Miami and now Cincinnati, MLS had added five teams since 2015: Orlando City SC (2015), New York City FC (2015), Minnesota United FC (2017), Atlanta United FC (2017) and Los Angeles FC begins play this year.