Nashville SC vs. CF Monterrey
2026 Leagues Cup | Phase One
Wednesday, August 12 | 7:00 p.m. CT
GEODIS Park | Nashville, TN
Nashville SC vs CF Monterrey
Wednesday, Aug. 12 at GEODIS Park | 7 p.m.
Leagues Cup 2026, Phase One
Broadcast Details
Watch | Apple TV
Nashville SC returns to GEODIS Park on Wednesday evening against CF Monterrey for its third match in seven days to close Leagues Cup Phase One, looking to advance to the knockout rounds for the first time since 2023. The Boys in Gold, after dropping their opener 1-0, stormed back for a dominant 4-1 win against Atlético de San Luis on Sunday evening, keeping themselves in contention should results elsewhere fall their way.
Key Storylines
Another memorable night vs. Monterrey?
Nashville has a richer, or at the very least more memorable, history with Liga MX clubs than many of their MLS comrades do. Sunday’s victory against San Luis served as the latest in a budding catalog of marquee wins against Mexican teams, which also includes a chaotic Leagues Cup round of 16 penalty win against Club America and a defeat of the same opponents at Estadio Azteca earlier this year. But Monterrey holds a special place on that list, one which could be strengthened should the Boys in Gold win on Wednesday.
Like many of its most memorable matches, Nashville’s competitive history with Rayados claims its roots in the 2023 Leagues Cup. After navigating a bracket — then featuring 32 teams in the knockout rounds — that featured two consecutive penalty shootout wins against FC Cincinnati and Club América, respectively, and a 5-0 demolition of Minnesota United, the Boys in Gold eyed up a semifinal bout with Monterrey looking to advance to their first-ever major final. Nearly 28,000 fans packed GEODIS Park for the mid-August spectacle, a decision rewarded by one of the most resilient performances in Nashville’s history.
Monterrey out-possessed, out-shot and out-passed the Boys in Gold but was stymied by an excellent Nashville defense and a ruthless counterattack. Sam Surridge, then a fresh face from the English Premier League, netted in the 67th minute off a Hany Mukhtar assist before himself assisting Fafa Picault to double the lead deep into stoppage time. Rapturous celebrations erupted at full time, Nashville’s 2-0 win against the five-time Liga MX champions having secured their first shot at silverware since joining MLS in 2020. Nashville would go on to lose that final in a 10-9 penalty heartbreaker to Inter Miami. But the competitive experience it gained from that run, and particularly its win against Monterrey, helped instill the culture that propelled the Boys in Gold to the 2025 U.S. Open Cup trophy and a Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal berth this spring.
The parallels between 2023’s clash with Monterrey and Wednesday are innumerable: from the venue, to the competition and must-win stakes, to the fact that Surridge and Mukhtar remain the spine of Nashville’s attack,even to the bizarre fact that Miami awaits the Boys in Gold in their next match.
We’ve already had one memorable win against Monterrey. Is another in store?
A seamless transition
Beyond three points, the standout story of Nashville’s win against San Luis was the return of many starters to the lineup. Andy Najar, Maxwell Woledzi, Jeisson Palacios and Brian Schwake, among six others, made their reintroductions after starting on the bench against Club León five days prior, handing the Boys in Gold a star power from the jump recent games had lacked. Cristian Espinoza, making his first appearance since May as the team’s captain, shone particularly bright, equalizing in the 36th minute before netting on a superb free-kick on the stroke of halftime.
For all intents and purposes, this was the Nashville lineup we’ve become so accustomed to this season. The lone exception, and the lone holdover from León, was loanee winger Elias Saad. You wouldn’t be able to tellthat he had just joined the club in July given the way he played Sunday. The Tunisian international offered just as much threat on the left flank as Espinoza did on the right, even if he didn’t score, and was responsible forboth of his Argentine teammate’s goals in one way or another. A sublime through-ball that pierced San Luis’ defense led to Espinoza’s first, while his craftiness on the edge of the box drew the foul that allowed Espinoza to step up for his second. By the 59th minute, when he was hooked for Shak Mohammed, Saad was the second-highest rated player on the field, per FotMob, having created the joint-most chances of anyone and takenthe most touches in the opposition’s box.
Head coach B.J. Callaghan has proven himself a shrewd operator in which players he elects to field as he navigates a packed calendar. It’s impossible to know exactly who will suit up for the Boys in Gold on Wednesday, particularly as the biggest game of Nashville’s MLS season to date looms three days later. But he showed on Sunday that he trusts Saad to show up no matter the team surrounding him and understands the importance of getting a player of his quality up to speed as quick as possible. Through two starts, at least, Saad has paid his coach’s faith back handsomely.
Series History & What’s Next
Nashville’s 2023 meeting with Monterrey is the only previous matchup in either club’s history, and one of five wins it carries all-time against Liga MX squads.
Regardless of Wednesday’s result, the Boys in Gold return to GEODIS Park on Saturday evening for their first of two league matches with Miami, looking to maintain a spot atop the MLS table with a win or draw.
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