MLS Nashville SC

MATCH Preview: Nashville Soccer Club to Face Inter Miami CF in Leagues Cup 2023 Final

August 18, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville Soccer Club will compete for its first silverware when it faces Inter Miami CF on Saturday, Aug. 19 for the Leagues Cup 2023 Final. The match will kick off at 8 p.m. CT at GEODIS Park.

Nashville SC will also be competing for a Round of 16 entry to the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup after qualifying for at least a First Round entry with its Leagues Cup 2023 Finals berth.

The Boys in Gold have been an exciting side to follow through their run in Leagues Cup 2023 play. They went 1W-1L-0D in group stage play before taking both its Round of 32 match and Round of 16 match to penalty shootouts to survive and advance. In the process of advancing to the Leagues Cup 2023, Nashville SC has faced three MLS sides, including Eastern Conference and 2023 Supporters' Shield front-runners FC Cincinnati. Nashville SC has also faced off with two Liga MX powerhouses in Club América and C.F. Monterrey.

Nashville SC will continue its exciting matchups as it faces its expansion brother Inter Miami CF. Both sides entered the league as expansion teams in 2020 and have met eight times across all competitions with Nashville holding a 4W-2L-2D record, including a Nov. 20, 2020 3-0 win at GEODIS Park over the Florida side in the Play-In Round of the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. Nashville SC has hosted Inter Miami CF once at GEODIS and has yet to lose to them in Nashville, with a home 3W-0L-1D record.

Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF have yet to face off since both clubs had a busy MLS 2023 summer transfer window, signing international talent to add to each respective roster. Inter Miami CF signed Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba along with U22 Initiatives in Diego Gómez, Facundo Farías and Tomás Avilés. Nashville SC added English striker Sam Surridge from English Premier League side Nottingham Forest as its third Designated Player. Surridge has averaged one goal per 39 minutes of play for the Boys in Gold since his July signing.

The competition is sure to be a high-scoring affair as Inter Miami CF has scored 21 goals in its Leagues Cup 2023 journey, and Nashville SC has scored 15 in its tournament run.

Nashville SC opened up its recent scoring streak on July 15, 2023 in its last MLS regular season competition before Leagues Cup 2023 began. Since then, Nashville SC has seen 10 different goal scorers in Leagues Cup 2023 play with Hany Mukhtar, Jacob Shaffelburg, Walker Zimmerman, Fafà Picault, Luke Haakenson, Aníbal Godoy, Sam Surridge, Shaq Moore, Teal Bunbury and Alex Muyl all recording at least one goal apiece.

The Boys in Gold have been stingy on the backline, recording two consecutive shutout victories in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal round of Leagues Cup 2023. Nashville SC has rolled out four different centerback pairings: Lukas MacNaughton and Josh Bauer; Walker Zimmerman and Bauer; Zimmerman, Bauer and MacNaughton; and MacNaughton and Zimmerman. Both Zimmerman and MacNaughton have started in five of Nashville's six Leagues Cup 2023 matches, and allowed only eight goals against alongside the two clean sheets.

Nashville SC has also started two goalkeepers throughout the Leagues Cup 2023 tournament in Joe Willis and Elliot Panicco. Panicco recorded his third start of the Leagues Cup 2023 on Aug. 15 against C.F. Monterrey to join his two appearances as an injury time substitute to play the role of penalty stopper for Nashville SC in its two shootout victories. Both Panicco and Willis own 10 saves apiece through the tournament, but Panicco leads all Nashville SC goalkeepers with two clean sheets.

Nashville SC will also look to continue its excellent form in the midfield through its maestro Hany Mukhtar and veteran leader Dax McCarty.

Mukhtar leads Nashville SC in goal contributions with seven through Leagues Cup 2023 (six assists, one goal). He registered three assists in a single match for just the second time in his career and set a new career-high of four goal contributions with his 59th minute goal against Minnesota United FC in Nashville SC's Quarterfinal matchup. He added yet another assist to his total in Nashville SC's Semifinal matchup as he continues to solidify his dynamic partnership with Surridge up top.

McCarty has registered four assists across Nashville SC's six Leagues Cup 2023 matches as he anchors the bottom of Nashville SC's current diamond formation.

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 18, 2023


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