Nashville Host Philadelphia in US Open Cup Semi-Final | OneFootball

Tuesday Sept. 16 @ 8:00pm ET GEODIS Park, Nashville, TNBroadcast nationally on CBSSNStreaming on Paramount+

The fabulous GEODIS Park will host the first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semi-final match of this 2025 campaign. It marks a watershed moment for Nashville SC, who are pursuing their first major trophy since joining the MLS as an expansion club in 2020.

Nashville SC

In June I had the privilege of watching a Club World Cup match at GEODIS Stadium. As I gathered my notes post-game at one of the nearby watering holes, I was asked by a Nashville fan: “What do you think of our team?” My reply was simple. The Boys in Gold will live or die by how two players perform: Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar. How prophetic those words turned out to be.

Surridge is the current MLS goal leader (21g/3a). He’s scored in eight of Nashville’s nine wins dating back to late May, and all three of their draws. In that same span, when he doesn’t score Nashville has a very poor record indeed: 1W, 6L. Hany Mukhtar is equally influential, though not quite as extreme. With his 21 contributions (14g/7a), the duo are responsible for 70% of Nashville’s goals.

So the big question is: can Surridge and Mukhtar take apart the Union?

Philadelphia Union

If you look at recent results, you may be inclined to say yes. When I saw Saturday’s 7 – 0 scoreline in the Philadelphia Union vs. Vancouver Whitecaps game, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. But I caution against pessimism. Last week Philly started four homegrown players as the game plan was clearly geared to resting key players for this upcoming contest.

Prior to that drubbing in Canada, Union had been the stingiest defense in MLS, conceding only 26 goals. Ironically, Vancouver leapfrogged them into that statistic with their clean sheet (they’ve shipped 31). Statistically, Nashville (50 for; 35 against) and Philly (49 for; 33 against) represents an extremely close matchup, even if separated by seven points in the Eastern table.

On the road for their second game, and with a trip to the finals on the line Philadelphia must shake off Saturday’s uncharacteristic hiccup. Top goal scorer Tai Baribo (16g/2a) will be back up top alongside Bruno Damiani, the Uruguayan forward with 6g/1a in all comps. Both have a goal and an assist in Open Cup play so far. The backline will be shored up with Kai Wagner’s return. The German is the highest ranked defender in terms of tackles (86) and 7th in interceptions (41). He will be a critical part of shutting down Nashville’s attack.

The Hooligan Take

With only two games played in this venue, there’s very little history to go on. Each team has a win. But Nashville is a tough nut to crack at home. They’ve only lost twice there in the 2025 MLS Season, with ten wins and three draws. In U.S. Open Cup play they are undefeated. This type of streak should not be discounted, no matter how uneven their recent performances have been.

For this match, we’re going with the home side (Nashville) to win 2 – 1.