Nashville SC gets its latest test on Tuesday evening, when it hosts Tigres UANL in Leg 1 of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals. The match kicks off at 8:30 pm ET on FS1 and TUDN, with Nashville beginning the first leg of a tie that will shape the rest of its continental run.
For B.J. Callaghan, the moment carries both pride and restraint. He said Nashville is proud to be in the semifinal and proud to call it a semifinal, but he also stressed that the club knows exactly what is at stake. Callaghan added that it is another step forward for the club and for the group, and that Nashville is proud to be playing in a semifinal.
The significance of the night is hard to miss. Nashville sits atop the Eastern Conference and has built one of MLS’s strongest sides under Callaghan, who took charge in July 2024. The club’s Designated Player trio of Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge and Cristian Espinoza has helped give it the kind of depth and attacking punch that has carried it through a demanding tournament. Of the four teams left in the competition, Nashville’s path has been arguably the toughest.
That route has already included a 7-0 aggregate win over Atlético Ottawa in Round One, a victory over Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in the Round of 16, and a 1-0 aggregate elimination of Club América in the quarterfinals. That quarterfinal win also made Nashville the first MLS side ever to earn a victory at Estadio Azteca, a milestone that underlined how far the club has come in a short time. Callaghan led Nashville to its first-ever trophy last season by winning the 2025 US Open Cup, and he said the team needs to pause and reflect on what it has accomplished because that builds confidence.
He also said the club started preseason with ambitious goals and that it is important, once those goals are reached, to celebrate them and measure them. But Callaghan drew the line there. Nashville, he said, quickly refocuses on its baseline: the work ahead, the next opponent and the same kind of consistent performance over a long season and multiple competitions. Against Tigres, that balance between enjoying the moment and staying locked in may define whether Nashville can turn a strong run into something larger.
