High-flying Nashville SC will be looking to carry over their impressive start to the MLS campaign into this summer’s Leagues Cup, where they’ll be facing Colorado Rapids and Toluca FC as part of their Central 4 group stage games. The team from Tennessee will kick off at their GEODIS Park home ground on July 23 against the Rapids, before welcoming the LIGA MX outfit four days later.
Although July has seen a slight downturn in form - four losses in their last five league fixtures - Nashville SC are in a strong position to make it to the play-offs this season. They currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, having won 11 out of their 23 matches so far.
Fans will invariably be pinning their hopes of Leagues Cup success on the team’s star man Hany Mukhtar, with the German having hit 23 MLS goals last season and already leading the scoring charts this year.
The 28-year-old sharpshooter is flanked by a host of experienced players, although coach Gary Smith will be keen to see some prospects stake their claim for a starting spot ahead of the summer tournament. One of the team’s more established younger players is defender Jack Mauer, who at only 23 years of age has been a regular in the team’s starting lineup for the last three campaigns. Here’s a look at both Mukhtar and Mauer before they take to the field in Leagues Cup play this month.
Hany Mukhtar - the face of the franchise
Rarely has a player introduced himself to the MLS in a more emphatic fashion. The former German youth international was Nashville SC’s first-ever Designated Player, and has led the team to the play-offs in every single season since the club joined the league.
He has no less than 63 goals in 112 appearances - including 26 during the 2022 season, a return which earned him the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award.
The Berlin-born forward made his Bundesliga debut for Hertha Berlin at just 17. After stints in Austria and Sweden, it’s in Nashville that Mukhtar has rediscovered the spark that made him one of German football’s most sought-after prospects. The move to America has also seen the versatile 28-year-old move up the pitch, playing more a second-striker role - evidently, operating closer to goal has paid dividends.
Jack Maher - A patient breakthrough
The American defender has been with the club since its arrival onto the MLS scene, having been drafted in back in 2020 after being a part of the prestigious Generation Adidas youth program.
Although a standout player at university level, Maher did have to bide his time before becoming a regular in Tennessee, going out on loan twice to prove his worth. Now, though, he is a regular and reliable presence at the back, who even has an eye for goal. He’ll be looking to add to his strike against SC Club América in last year’s Leagues Cup Showcase, by finding the net in this year’s tournament.
