TWO NASHVILLE SC PLAYERS WITH PAST MLS ALL-STAR WEEK HISTORY
ORLANDO – As MLS All-Star Week in Orlando rolls on with events on Tuesday night before the All-Star Game on Wednesday, Nashville SC fans can enjoy from afar knowing their club will be a part of the festivities next season. As the league’s best players descend on central Florida, this is a great chance for Nashville fans to get familiar with the All-Star festivities.
Schedule
Tuesday, July 30
4:00 p.m. CT – MLS Homegrown Game presented by Energizer. A team comprised of the best Homegrown Players from MLS will take on Chivas de Guadalajara U-20 team. The game will be broadcast on TUDN.com and Twitter.com/MLS.
7:00 p.m. CT – Skills Challenge present by Target. Three teams of three players will compete in this debut event that will judge passing, volley and shooting skills. Teams will be comprised of MLS Stars (Wayne Rooney, Carlos Vela and Jonathan dos Santos), Orlando City SC players (Nani, Chris Mueller and Sebastian Mendez) and Atlético de Madrid players (Koke, Joao Felix and Hector Herrera). The event will be broadcast like on MLSsoccer.com, Twitter.com/MLS, the FoxSports App and ESPN3.
Wednesday, July 31
9:00 a.m. CT – Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Soccer Match presented by MLS Works and ESPN. Before the All-Star Game takes center stage in Orlando, the East and West Unified Sports All Star soccer teams will play an 11 v 11 match broadcast digitally around the country on ESPN3.
7:00 p.m. CT – MLS All-Star Game presented by Target. The best players in Major League Soccer team up to take on Atlético de Madrid at Exploria Stadium
Why to Watch
1) Nashville SC Connection - The Homegrown Game will kick off on Tuesday afternoon, and a couple of Nashville SC players are very familiar with the match. In 2016, the MLS Homegrowns took on a Mexico U-20 side that started Nashville’s own Daniel Ríos. Ríos played 58’ minutes as a starter as Mexico beat the Homegrowns 2-0. In 2017, Derrick Jones suited up for the Homegrowns, taking on Chivas U-20. Jones started and played a full 90’ minutes in a 2-2 draw.
2) Style Points - This will be the first year for the Skills Challenge at MLS All-Star Week. Each three person team will send in crosses and attempt to score from the cross. Extra points will be awarded for flair and creativity in scoring. Seeing the best players in MLS like Wayne Rooney and Carlos Vela and young Atlético phenom Joao Felix volley in goals with style should be a lot of fun to watch. The judges aren’t too bad either. U.S. Women’s National Team star Alex Morgan, former NFL wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and reigning eMLS Cup champion “Doolsta” are a few of the judges for the event.
3) What Could Be – Unlike other American professional sports, there is no guarantee an MLS team has a representative at the All-Star Game. However, 17 of the 24 teams are represented in the 2019 MLS All-Star Game, and six of the seven teams without a representative in the All-Star Game have a player in the Homegrown Game. All of that to say that it is very likely that Nashville SC is represented next year at All Star week in one of the two matches. Of the six most recent MLS expansion teams, four had an All-Star Game participant in their first season, with only Minnesota United in 2017 and FC Cincinnati this season left without an All-Star.
