Nashville SC eye bigger dreams after clinching playoff spot | OneFootball

By Ben Wright

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Saturday night, Nashville SC officially became the first team to clinch an Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs spot.

The Boys in Gold cruised to a 3-0 win over Chicago Fire FC, marking their 12th victory in 13 home matches this season and giving them a staggering 37 of a potential 39 points at GEODIS Park.

Goals from Sam Surridge, Cristian Espinoza and Hany Mukhtar made it the first time in club history that all three Designated Players scored in the same match.

"When you set out on a vision and you look at the season, the first milestone is you have to earn your way into the MLS playoffs if you want to reach ultimate goals," head coach B.J. Callaghan said afterwards. 

"And so for us, it's a great moment to just take a pause and say, 'All right, the body of work is good enough that we were able to hit this milestone.' And then you get back to work."

Shield dreams

Through 26 matches, Nashville (57 points) have an eight-point lead over Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Supporters' Shield race and an 11-point lead over the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference table.

Nashville have already won a club-record 17 regular-season matches and, at their current pace, could clinch the Shield before their trip to FC Cincinnati on Nov. 7 for Decision Day.

"It's just happiness because today we achieved one of our goals for this season," said Espinoza. "It's amazing. It's going to give us a lot of momentum for the rest of the season. We check this box, and now we go for the next one."

Points record

With eight matches left on the schedule – four at home and four on the road – Nashville are set to challenge Inter Miami CF's single-season points record (74) from the 2024 campaign.

Needing 18 points from this final stretch, there's virtually no margin for error. But with an undefeated home record, the league's best defense, and a DP trio that's combined for 31 goals and 20 assists in the regular season, they're not shying away from the challenge.

"We know the expectation that we create is really high right now," said Espinoza. "We just need to stay calm, still be humble, and keep working as hard as we have been doing for the whole season. Nothing changes, and we just still keep going."

MLS Cup pursuit

Nashville are one season removed from winning the 2025 US Open Cup, the club's first trophy since joining MLS in 2020 as an expansion team.

With this momentum, they're moving closer to their ultimate goal of becoming MLS Cup presented by Audi champions on Dec. 18 – all in their second full season under Callaghan.

"We clinched; that was our first goal of the season and not our last one. Many more to achieve," added Mukhtar, the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP.

"But this club is run so well, from the front office to the coaching team to the players. They do a fantastic job each year bringing the right players in, and this team is special."

HIGHLIGHTS: Nashville SC vs. Chicago Fire FC | September 19, 2026