Published for Nashville SC fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 23, 2026
🎸 Nashville SC Fans — Your Boys in Gold Own the East!
First in the East, first in the league, one result from the Supporters’ Shield. Gold shirts, full voice — wear the Boys in Gold like you mean it.
The Club
Nashville Soccer Club was founded on May 19, 2016, was awarded its MLS expansion franchise on December 20, 2017, and began MLS play in 2020 after two seasons in the USL Championship — the club’s seventh MLS season. Principally owned by John R. Ingram, the Boys in Gold play in Electric Gold and Acoustic Blue, and in seven years they have become the best team in America. New to the Nashville SC roster and Nashville SC schedule? Welcome to the loudest bandwagon in the league.
Home is GEODIS Park in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood — the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States, club-listed capacity 30,009, opened on May 1, 2022 and nicknamed “The Castle,” and in 2026 it has become a fortress. Nashville’s inaugural MLS match, February 29, 2020 at Nissan Stadium, drew 59,069 — still a Tennessee soccer record.
The architect is B.J. Callaghan, named the second head coach in club history on July 3, 2024. The club extended his contract in February 2026 through the 2028-29 season, and he has repaid that faith with a record-breaking campaign — on October 10 he set the MLS record for wins through 71 regular-season matches coached, his 38th victory — and he is a leading Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year candidate.
Where is Walker Zimmerman? It is still one of the most-searched Nashville questions in America — and the honest answer is that the beloved captain, a two-time MLS Defender of the Year, left as a free agent and signed with Toronto FC on January 2, 2026. His replacements have built the best defense in MLS. The gold shirt fans wear now is the captain’s own: Hany Mukhtar, No. 10, back at MVP level.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#10 Mukhtar — Nashville SC Style Jersey
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The captain, the MVP, the face of the franchise. Sixteen goals and a five-match scoring streak — the fan-inspired No. 10 Mukhtar style jersey the Castle sings for.
Last Season (2025): The First Trophy
Callaghan’s first full season transformed Nashville from a dour defensive side into a record-breaking attacking one: sixth in the East with 54 points (16W–12L–6D), a club-record 58 MLS regular-season goals, a 15-match unbeaten streak, and a club-record three MLS All-Stars. Sam Surridge was an MLS MVP finalist with 24 league goals, Hany Mukhtar added 16 goals and 12 assists — 40 league goals combined. The playoff run ended in Round One against the eventual champions, Inter Miami.
But the league was not the trophy. On October 1, 2025, at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Nashville beat Austin FC 2–1 to win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup — the first trophy in club history and the first major professional sports championship ever won by a Tennessee team. Mukhtar opened the scoring on 17 minutes, Myrto Uzuni leveled before half-time, and Surridge’s 60th-minute penalty won it — while goalkeeper Brian Schwake saved a first-half Uzuni penalty and made seven saves as Man of the Match.
Best Players Right Now
Hany Mukhtar — #10, attacking midfielder, captain. The face of the franchise, back at his very best: 16 MLS goals and eight assists as of mid-October, with goals in five straight matches. The 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP and Golden Boot winner is an MVP candidate again and the man who scored the Open Cup final opener in 2025, the Azteca winner in April and a brace in the 4–1 rout of Miami.
Sam Surridge — #9, striker. Nashville’s top scorer with 17 MLS goals in 2026, he made his 100th MLS appearance on October 17. Last season he was an MVP finalist with 24 league goals and won the U.S. Open Cup Golden Boot — his penalty won the final. This fall brought a brace at Miami, including the stoppage-time equalizer. Signed through June 2028.
Cristian Espinoza — #7, right winger. The headline 2026 signing, a free-agent Designated Player from San Jose signed through 2028: four MLS goals and 12 assists, with set pieces that drive the league’s most balanced attack. His 74th-minute goal at Miami in March knocked the MLS Cup champions out of the Champions Cup.
Brian Schwake — #99, goalkeeper. The breakout star of the project. The 2025 Open Cup final hero took the No. 1 job in 2026 and produced a club-record-tying 13 shutouts, a league-leading 18 MLS wins by October 10, and a penalty save from Lionel Messi in the August rout of Miami. An MLS Goalkeeper of the Year candidate, he won his first USMNT call-up in September 2026.
Andy Najar — #31, right-back. The veteran Honduran international is having a career year at 33: three MLS goals and nine assists — 12 goal contributions, tying his single-season career high — including a goal in the win over Miami. An MLS All-Star in 2025, now billed as an MLS Defender of the Year candidate.
Maxwell Woledzi — #3, center-back. The Zimmerman replacement nobody talks about — which is the point. The 25-year-old Ghanaian, signed from Fredrikstad in Norway, has partnered Jeisson Palacios in the best defense in MLS: 23 conceded in 30 matches. Under contract through December 2028.
Star Spotlight
The night Nashville lifted Tennessee’s first trophy. October 1, 2025, the U.S. Open Cup Final at Q2 Stadium: Mukhtar’s 17th-minute opener, Schwake’s penalty save, Surridge’s 60th-minute penalty winner — a 2–1 win over Austin FC that delivered the first trophy in club history and the first major professional sports championship ever won by a Tennessee team. After losing the 2023 Leagues Cup final to Messi’s Miami, Nashville finally had its cup.
The revenge tour: Miami out, América stunned. Five months after Miami eliminated them from the 2025 playoffs, Nashville went to Fort Lauderdale on March 18, 2026 and knocked the MLS Cup champions out of the Champions Cup on away goals — Espinoza’s 74th-minute equalizer canceling out Messi’s 900th career goal in Miami’s last-ever match at Chase Stadium. Four weeks later came a first: a competitive MLS win at Estadio Azteca, Mukhtar’s 51st-minute goal beating Club América 1–0 to book a first semifinal.
The 4–1 statement — and Schwake stones Messi. August 15, 2026: the top two met at a sold-out GEODIS Park. Najar headed Nashville in front on 17 minutes, then Schwake saved Messi’s first-half penalty; after Miami equalized in stoppage time, Mukhtar scored twice in 14 minutes either side of a Surridge goal for a 4–1 rout. Messi, who had scored 16 goals in 12 previous appearances against Nashville, was held scoreless.
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More Boys in Gold stars, same electric gold.
This Season (2026): The Best Start in MLS History
First in the East, first in all of MLS — 67 points from 30 matches (20W–3L–7D), 64 goals scored, a league-fewest 23 conceded, a +41 goal difference. It is the best 30-match start in MLS history, 12 points clear of second-placed Inter Miami, and on October 17 Nashville clinched first place in the East for the first time. The Supporters’ Shield is one result away: a win or a draw at CF Montréal on October 24 secures it with three games to spare. The Castle stands unconquered — the only MLS team unbeaten at home, 14 wins and one draw.
The cups told two stories. The Champions Cup run was the club’s best ever — Miami and Club América beaten along the way — before Tigres ended it in the semifinals. The Leagues Cup ended in Phase One. The league form line is relentless: Chicago 3–0, Toronto 2–0 on a Mukhtar brace, 4–1 at Austin, 4–0 over Sporting Kansas City, then a 1–1 draw at San Jose.
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Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, October 24, 2026 — at CF Montréal, Stade Saputo (12:30 p.m. CT). The Shield game: a win or a draw clinches Nashville’s first Supporters’ Shield with three matches to spare.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — vs Philadelphia Union, GEODIS Park. A top-of-the-East clash at the Castle against the 2025 Shield winners, who also lost the 2025 Open Cup semifinal to Nashville.
Sunday, November 1, 2026 — vs New York Red Bulls, GEODIS Park. The regular-season home finale: one more night at the Castle before the playoffs.
Saturday, November 7, 2026 — at FC Cincinnati, TQL Stadium (3:00 p.m. CT). Decision Day, and a rivalry rematch to close the season: Nashville routed Cincinnati 4–0 at GEODIS Park in August.
November 20 – December 2, 2026 — Round One, Best-of-3. As the East’s No. 1 seed, Nashville skip the Wild Card round (Wednesday, November 18) and open at home: Game 1 is Sunday, November 22 at GEODIS Park against the Wild Card winner. Conference semifinals follow December 5–6, conference finals December 11–12, and MLS Cup 2026 lands on Friday, December 18 — which, as Shield leaders, Nashville would host. Every match streams on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. Inter Miami CF — the rivalry Nashville built in 2026. No fixture in MLS has flipped so completely. The history was all Miami: the 2023 Leagues Cup final won on penalties at GEODIS Park, the 2025 Round One playoff elimination — a 0W–6L–2D Nashville record against the Messi-era Herons. The 2026 story is the opposite: unbeaten in four meetings across three competitions — the Champions Cup away-goals win in March, the 4–1 league rout at GEODIS Park in August with Schwake’s penalty save on Messi, and the 2–2 draw at Nu Stadium in September. A Conference Final at GEODIS Park is a live possibility.
2. FC Cincinnati — the Tennessee–Ohio war. The closest Eastern rival by geography, and Nashville’s measuring stick. (Note: “Hell is Real” is Cincinnati vs Columbus, not this fixture.) Cincinnati won both 2025 league meetings 2–1, and the all-time series was dead level before August 29, 2026, when Nashville routed them 4–0 at GEODIS Park — Surridge, Mukhtar, Acosta and Qasem scoring. The season ends with the return match on Decision Day at TQL Stadium.
3. Atlanta United FC — the Southern rivalry. The Southeast’s original heavyweight clash, born in front of a Tennessee-record 59,069 fans in Nashville’s first-ever MLS match on February 29, 2020 — a 2–1 Atlanta win at Nissan Stadium in which Zimmerman scored Nashville’s first MLS goal. The 2026 edition was a clean Nashville sweep: 2–0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 18, Espinoza and Shak Mohammed scoring, and 1–0 at GEODIS Park on July 17, Mohammed again.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Nashville SC’s next game?
Saturday, October 24, 2026 — away at CF Montréal at Stade Saputo, 12:30 p.m. CT. A win or draw clinches Nashville’s first-ever Supporters’ Shield. After that: Philadelphia Union at home on Wednesday, October 28, New York Red Bulls at home on Sunday, November 1, and Decision Day at FC Cincinnati on Saturday, November 7.
Is Hany Mukhtar still Nashville SC’s star player in 2026?
Yes — Mukhtar, the club captain and No. 10, is Nashville’s star and an MVP candidate again. The 2022 MLS MVP and Golden Boot winner has 16 goals and eight assists in MLS play as of October 17, 2026, scored in five straight matches, and delivered the club’s biggest 2026 moments: the Azteca winner against Club América and a brace in the 4–1 win over Inter Miami.
Where do Nashville SC play, and how do I get tickets?
At GEODIS Park in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood — the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States, with a club-listed capacity of 30,009, opened May 1, 2022. Tickets are sold via NashvilleSC.com/tickets and Ticketmaster; playoff tickets for all home rounds through the Eastern Conference Final went on sale October 22. Every match also streams on Apple TV via MLS Season Pass.
Have Nashville SC ever won a trophy?
Yes — their first trophy is the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, won 2–1 over Austin FC on October 1, 2025 at Q2 Stadium, Mukhtar and Surridge scoring, Schwake saving a penalty. It was the first major professional sports championship in Tennessee history. Before that, Nashville’s closest call was the 2023 Leagues Cup final, lost on penalties to Inter Miami. In 2026 they added a first Champions Cup semifinal run and stand one result from a first Supporters’ Shield.
⚽ Nashville SC Fan Shop
The full Boys in Gold trio — Mukhtar, Surridge and Espinoza in electric gold.
Sources & official links: Nashville SC official site · MLS official site · Nashville SC tickets
Gold shirts, full voice, a Shield to lift and a Castle to defend — the Boys in Gold believe, Nashville.
