A newly refurbished stadium and a new era for MLS teams at the Estadio Azteca. That’s what it felt like on Tuesday night, as Nashville SC made history as the first MLS club to win a match at the famed Mexican stadium, newly reopened with its 2026 World Cup renovations.
Hany Mukhtar scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win over Liga MX giants Club América, pushing the 2025 U.S. Open Cup winners into the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals after a scoreless first-leg draw in Nashville.
While there was only one goal across two legs, the series didn’t lack drama. Both teams had chances through each game, and Tuesday’s second leg saw América pummel Nashville with 18 shots, compared to the Tennessee side’s eight.
Yet, only Mukhtar was able to finish, marking the latest chapter in his legendary career with the Coyotes. His marquee moment also came without his side’s most potent goalscorer, after MLS Golden Boot leader Sam Surridge did not travel to Mexico City due to a muscle injury.
Outside of the goal, Nashville held strong defensively and leaned on a standout nine-save performance from Brian Schwake, helping them clinch a spot in the continental competition’s final four for the first time in club history.
“It’s not easy to play here, Club América is a huge club, and it’s a good team with a lot of great players,” Mukhtar said after the match. “We showed character… we know about this stadium, it’s historic and it’s beautiful, it’s a pleasure to play here, and that’s what I said to the guys… we earned it.”
Having already ushered in a new era for Tennessee sports in 2025, with the U.S. Open Cup marking the first title won by a professional team in the state, the win over América at the Azteca opens Nashville up to even greater heights. Through both, it also makes B.J. Callaghan a legendary manager in just his second year in charge, having coached the team to its first title and now Tuesday’s standout win.
Advancing to the semifinals hasn’t been an easy road for the Coyotes either. Not only did they push past América, but they crushed Inter Miami’s hopes of continental glory with a 1–1 aggregate scoreline and advancing on away goals, after thrashing Canadian Premier League champions Atlético Ottawa 7–0 across two legs.
With a quarterfinal win secured, the team now looks ahead to a two-legged semifinal clash against either another Liga MX giant, Tigres UANL or MLS foes Seattle Sounders, who were the last U.S. team to win the tournament, lifting the trophy in 2022.
LAFC Oust Defending Concacaf Champions
Nashville’s historic win wasn’t the only MLS triumph on Tuesday, as LAFC eliminated 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup winners Cruz Azul with a second-leg 1–1 draw in Mexico, following a 3–0 win on home turf at BMO Stadium in the opening match.
Denis Bouanga scored a penalty in the seventh minute of second half stoppage time in the win, as Marc Dos Santos’s side held strong despite allowing 31 shots from the Mexican titans, forcing eight saves upon 2018 World Cup winner, Hugo Lloris.
Although the second leg didn’t come with a win, it kept up LAFC’s stellar start to the season, having now eliminated Real España, Alajuelense and now Cruz Azul from the Champions Cup, all in Dos Santos’s first few months in the job. Meanwhile, it also pushes the club back into continental prominence, as they look for a crowning Concacaf moment, after twice falling in the final, most recently to Club Léon in 2023.
Having advanced, they will now take on one of Deportivo Toluca, the best team in Liga MX over the past 12 months, or El Tráfico foes, LA Galaxy, in a two-legged semifinal for a chance at the single-leg final at the end of May.
Champions Cup No Longer Hinders MLS Play
For both Nashville SC and LAFC, the Concacaf Champions Cup has not hampered their success in MLS, going against historical precedent.
On Nashville’s side, Callaghan has heavily rotated the squad on several occasions through both the Inter Miami round of 16 series and the quarterfinal, but has not paid the price in league play. Instead, his team beat Columbus Crew 1–0 in between the Miami leg and Charlotte FC amid the recent América series.
With those six points in the two rotated games, which did not feature the trio of Mukhtar, Surridge and Cristian Espinoza, Nashville currently sit on 16 points through seven league matches, leading the Eastern Conference amid their run to the Champions Cup semifinals.
While LAFC can’t quite say the same about the rotated games, having lost 2–1 to the Portland Timbers over the weekend, their overall form has remained remarkable. Early in the season, Dos Santos played a full-strength team in each game across both competitions, leading his team to the longest season-opening clean sheet streak in MLS history and a dominant run through the Champions Cup.
Overall, the pattern is changing for MLS clubs in continental competition. No longer do they need to mortgage the league for Concacaf success; they can instead rely on improved depth in MLS play while prioritizing a glory-filled Champions Cup target.
Only three MLS teams have ever won the Champions Cup, with the Sounders in 2022, the Galaxy in 2000 and D.C. United in 1998. At the same time, only the 2025 Vancouver Whitecaps have advanced to the final in Concacaf, MLS Cup and their domestic cup competition in the same season.
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