How did we get here?
Nashville SC has been one of the most impressive teams in North America since the 2026 season began. The Boys in Gold have played 15 games since their February 17 opener, winning 10, drawing four and losing just one, and sit comfortably atop the MLS Eastern Conference table by three points with a game in hand.
The Concacaf Champions Cup has been a similarly fruitful venture. Nashville, participating for just the second time in its history, finds itself two games away from a chance to play for its second-ever trophy and first-ever on the continental level. Ahead of Tuesday’s semifinal first leg against Tigres UANL at GEODIS Park, let’s look at how Nashville got here and the moments which have made its run unforgettable.
Nashville 7-0 Atlético Ottawa
The Boys in Gold kicked off their 2026 campaign on a frigid night in Ontario in mid-February, facing off against reigning Canadian Premier League champions Atlético Ottawa in the first round of the Champions Cup. Ottawa stood tall throughout the first half, but Nashville was eventually able to break through in the second. Woobens Pacius scored his first goal for the club and star striker Sam Surridge sealed the 2-0 win on an assist from new Designated Player Cristian Espinoza.
Nashville’s return to GEODIS Park a week later was comfortable. Alex Muyl got the Boys in Gold started after 21 minutes and Jordan Knight added another on the breakaway before halftime. Pacius, Jack Maher and Ahmed Qasem all netted after the break as well, sending an early statement to the rest of the competition that this Nashville group was one to be feared.
Nashville 1-1 Inter Miami
Even if Nashville cruised through the first round, there are no easy matchups in knockout soccer — a fact it faced head-on in the Round of 16. If they wanted to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, the Boys in Gold would have to take down the reigning MLS Cup champions, early tournament favorites and one of their fiercest rivals: Inter Miami.
Nashville’s has played no side more often than the team from South Florida. And while the early stages of their rivalry favored the Boys in Gold, the Herons had seized the upper hand in the past few seasons, taking Nashville down on penalty kicks in the 2023 Leagues Cup Final, ending their Champions Cup odyssey in 2024 and knocking them out of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Nashville didn’t let the stature of its opponent rattle it. The first leg at GEODIS Park broadly favored the Boys in Gold, who looked the more threatening side throughout 90 minutes and had numerous chances to seize a lead. Miami’s defense — particularly goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair — held firm, however, settling the series at 0-0 ahead of a decisive second leg in Ft. Lauderdale.
The Herons grabbed an early lead at home through Lionel Messi, who squeezed the ball through Jeisson Palacios’ legs and just out of Brian Schwake’s reach. That remains the only goal Nashville has conceded in the Champions Cup in 2026. But Nashville’s own Argentine produced a moment of magic deep into the second half, capitalizing on a rebounded shot to level the match at 1-1 and send the Boys in Gold to the next round on the away-goals tiebreaker, silencing the home crowd and securing perhaps the most consequential win in the rivalry’s history.
Nashville 1-0 Club América
The Boys in Gold were handed another tough assignment in the quarterfinals: Mexican giant Club América, the joint-best seven-time holders of the Champions Cup. The only previous competitive meeting between the teams was among the most chaotic either will ever play — a 2-2 match in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 in 2023 which Nashville won after a shootout — promising another tense affair this time round.
Like Miami, the first leg at GEODIS Park finished 0-0, with the visitors sitting back to soak up pressure and hope that the advantage of their home ground could carry them to the semifinal stage. To their credit, that seemed a reasonable assumption. No MLS side had ever beaten América at Mexico City’s hallowed Estadio Azteca, a cauldron of nearly 90,000 seats sitting more than 7,000 feet above sea level.
But like they did at Miami, the Boys in Gold showed up and stunned their hosts, with Espinoza feeding Hany Mukhtar in the 51st minute to secure a historic 1-0 win and send Nashville to the last four for the first time ever.
Nashville ?-? Tigres
Will Nashville make further history Tuesday night? Come and see for yourself.
BUY TICKETS TO TONIGHT'S SEMIFINAL MATCH
Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinal
Tuesday, April 28 at GEODIS Park | 7:30 p.m.
Nashville SC faces Tigres in the Champions Cup semifinal.
