Hany Mukhtar & Nashville SC chase "bigger goals" in historic campaign | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

Hany Mukhtar found himself with an unfamiliar opportunity when the FIFA World Cup necessitated a seven-week pause in Major League Soccer’s 2026 campaign: The chance to show his wife Ashley and their 2-year-old daughter Layla his globally renowned hometown in its glorious peak weather conditions, rather than the midwinter vibes of a typical offseason visit.

“It has been a minute since I had personally a summer break,” Nashville SC’s star attacker explained to MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday.

“I went to Berlin, and I forgot how beautiful Berlin is during the summer. It was a good time. But now I'm happy to be back.”

Match Trailer | Nashville SC face off with Atlanta United

Nashville's centerpiece

Mukhtar and his family, which will soon grow again – Ashley is expecting their second child – had much to savor over the World Cup break, and plenty to look forward to as Nashville resume play with Friday’s down-South clash with Atlanta United (8:10 pm ET | Apple TV, FOX, FOX Deportes).

Nashville sit atop the overall MLS table with 33 points from their first 14 matches, only one of which was a loss, even while juggling the rigors of a Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal run that included an historic defeat of Mexican giants Club América in the vaunted Estadio Azteca. That torrid pace ranks as the third-best in the league’s three decades of existence, and a strong indicator of their status as Supporters’ Shield favorites.

Mukhtar recently earned his fifth career MLS All-Star nod, just reward for his 6g/5a in league play thus far. And having gotten a taste of glory with their US Open Cup title – the club’s first major trophy – last autumn, he and his fellow Coyotes are eager to underline their credentials as serious MLS Cup presented by Audi contenders in the months ahead.

“It's time for a trophy for this team,” said Mukhtar, the league MVP in 2022.

“We won the Open Cup last year, and it was great. But we have bigger goals as a club, and I think it's time. We're growing, and we're ready to achieve these things.”

Constant evolution

In the two years since head coach B.J. Callaghan’s arrival, Nashville have reinvented themselves in tactical and philosophical terms, evolving from the sturdy (if occasionally stodgy) defensive outfits of former boss Gary Smith’s tenure into a more possession-dominant side, capable of winning tight tussles and barnburners alike.

Mukhtar epitomizes that. As Ben Wright detailed in Nashville-based site SixOneFive Soccer's 2025 report card, last season Mukhtar led his team in minutes played and distance covered (he ran an average of 6.9 miles per game, fifth-most in MLS), all while posting one of MLS’s top expected goal contributions numbers in addition to his 16g/12a in league play.

For the analytics-oriented, his data wheel is a sight to behold, reflecting elite-tier output in a range of categories.

Callaghan’s system has stoked some splashy scoring numbers for Mukhtar and his strike partner Sam Surridge, and they’ve hit another level with the winter arrival of free-agent winger Cristian Espinoza as Nashville's third Designated Player. The trio has already notched 31 goal contributions between them, while teammates like Andy Najar, Warren Madrigal and Patrick Yazbek have chipped in at vital moments as well.

“Yeah, of course. I mean, I haven't met an attacker who doesn't want to play with the ball!” wisecracked Mukhtar regarding whether he’s enjoying Callaghan’s assertive approach. “So right now there is a balance, always, between attacking and defending, but I think we have a good balance, and we want to be even more proactive with the ball and controlling the game with the ball."

Meanwhile, that familiar defensive resilience remains, as the Coyotes have conceded the joint-fewest goals in the league (11).

Then there’s the development aspect: Callaghan and his staff have nurtured a litany of individual improvements and injected an aging roster with youth, including an increased focus on the club's academy and MLS NEXT Pro pipeline at Huntsville City FC.

“B.J. is an excellent coach, very talented coach,” said Mukhtar. “What impresses me most is that he's always willing to improve – constantly willing to improve the team, constantly willing to adjust and make players better and better and better. And that is, I think, the culture at this club. We want to get better, we want to improve, and we find solutions for problems.

“He has a clear idea how to play, and this is very good so far. But we are just midseason, so we have a long way to go.”

Club legend

Seven years after signing on as Nashville’s first-ever DP, Mukhtar remains the face of the club. He and Ashley famously got married on the pitch at GEODIS Park, an event which drew exclusive coverage from People magazine. And it was no surprise when the club picked him as their centerpiece for the new ‘Can I Kick It?’ spot from a promotional campaign titled ‘Thanks World, We'll Take It From Here,’ designed to harness World Cup momentum as the tournament reaches its finale this weekend.

“I'm very honored and very proud about that,” said Mukhtar. “I love Nashville. I love the club. They welcomed me with open arms seven years ago, and now I feel like it's my club, and I try to help, to improve this club every single year, getting better and better and achieving our goals together.”

That work continues on Friday night, when their match and El Tráfico, the must-see Southern California showdown between LAFC and the LA Galaxy, offer a prime-time doubleheader on US network television, one of six MLS fixtures placed between the World Cup semifinals and final to remind North American audiences of the local soccer product available coast to coast all season.

While Nashville-Atlanta doesn’t yet carry the formal trappings of a derby like the one in Los Angeles, Mukhtar calls it “by far the biggest rivalry” for him and his team, with 247 miles – a modest distance by North American standards – separating the two clubs’ stadiums.

He’s got extra reason for that, though. As it turns out, Mukhtar’s commitment to evangelizing for the beautiful game spans the big picture and the deeply personal, starting with his brother-in-law, Blake.

“My wife is from Atlanta. Her brother was a season-ticket holder for Atlanta United,” revealed Mukhtar, the satisfaction in his voice unmistakable as he noted that Blake is no longer a Five Stripes ticketholder.

“Now he comes more and more to the Nashville games. So I’m trying to win him over.”

Upward trajectory

As he made Music City his home, Mukhtar has had a front-row seat for the game’s generational progress on these shores, and it makes him bullish on MLS’s future.

“In my opinion, in the US, it’s just a question of time until they become one of the best leagues, if not the best league in the world, because they have done it in all different sports, right?” said Mukhtar. “Soccer is the global sport, and I think the American people and the world are realizing that here is a huge opportunity.

“The sport is growing rapidly – if you just come to our games, you see so many kids, 8, 9, 10 years old, they're coming with their parents, and this culture will change. They will grow up watching the sport, living the sport, playing the sport. You will very soon see.”

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