Soccer
Nashville SC head coach BJ Callaghan urged his side to continue their ambition following their Champions Cup win over Club America.
Hany Mukhtar’s goal secured a 1-0 win in the second leg, which was enough for Nashville to progress after a goalless first leg.
Nashville are also enjoying a strong start to the 2026 MLS season, sitting top of the Eastern Conference with 16 points ahead of their trip to Atlanta United.
They have lost just one of their seven league games so far (W5 D1), defeating in-from Charlotte FC in their last MLS match.
Callaghan believes both their MLS form and progression in the Champions Cup, where they will face Tigres in the semi-final, will help Nashville build their own legacy.
“Any time you play against a team that’s historical, with the history of Club America, a team that’s elite in this region, these are the teams that we want to measure ourselves against,” said Callaghan.
“We are a young club, we’re an ambitious club, and we’re writing our chapter seven here.
“This will be one part of that story as we continue to advance through this tournament and continue to try and build our own legacy as a club, being a young club, but not shying away from being ambitious.”
How about this for a season so far
5 goals conceded in 13 games
First in the Eastern Conference by 3 points
First @MLS team ever to win at Estadio Azteca
@TheChampions semifinalists for the first timeHOP ON THE HYPE TRAIN pic.twitter.com/0CKFgeV613
— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) April 16, 2026
Atlanta, meanwhile, have endured a poor start to the season, winning just four points from their opening seven games to leave them 12th in the East.
They have won just one league match this term (D1 L5), losing 1-0 last time out to the Chicago Fire.
They did, however, gain some momentum during the week after defeating Chattanooga 3-1 in the US Open Cup.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Atlanta United – Matias Galarza
Matias Galarza won all three tackles he attempted for Atlanta against Chicago and is now eight-for-eight on tackles this season.
Galarza is one of three players (Noah Allen 11/11 and Joaquin Valente 8/8) to attempt eight or more tackles this season with a 100-percent success rate.
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar has 16 career goal contributions against Atlanta in all competitions (eight goals, eight assists), tied with Lucho Acosta for the most against the Five Stripes.
Mukhtar has been involved in at least one goal in 10 of his 14 all-time matches against Atlanta.
MATCH PREDICTION – NASHVILLE SC WIN
Nashville are off to the best start in club history with 16 points from their first seven matches (W5 D1 L1), five more than they have had at this point in any season before.
Nashville have collected more points from their first seven matches this season (16) than they did in their final 13 matches of 2025 (13 – W4 D1 L8).
Atlanta collected four points against Nashville last season, including a 1-0 win in Nashville on August 30.
Atlanta were one of just four Eastern Conference teams (FC Cincinnati, Inter Miami, New York City FC) that Nashville were unable to beat during the 2025 regular season.
Over their first four regular-season home matches this season, Atlanta have held 59.3 percent possession, the fourth highest in home matches in MLS this season.
The Five Stripes have completed 525.8 passes per match at home this season, the third highest in MLS.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Atlanta United – 24.9%
Draw – 23%
Nashville SC – 52.1%
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