Southern rivals! Nashville host Atlanta for MLS restart

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Major League Soccer

·14 Juli 2026

Southern rivals! Nashville host Atlanta for MLS restart

By Cal Meachem

It's an all-Southern affair on Friday night, as Supporters' Shield leaders Nashville SC host Atlanta United as the MLS season resumes following the 2026 FIFA World Cup break.

Video OneFootball

How to watch & stream

Apple TV
FOX, FOX Deportes

When

Friday, July 17 | 8:10 pm ET/5:10 pm PT

Where

GEODIS Park | Nashville, Tennessee

Match Trailer | Nashville SC face off with Atlanta United

Nashville SC

Standings

1st in Eastern Conference
33 points (10W-1L-3D)

Last game

Nashville entered the World Cup break on an eight-game unbeaten run, and most recently secured a 2-1 win over New York City FC.

Center backs Maxwell Woledzi and Jeisson Palacios got the goals, showing the Music City club is far more than their three Designated Players in attack.

Players to watch

Hany Mukhtar: Recently voted to his fifth MLS All-Star Game, the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP is off to a flying start with 6g/5a.
Sam Surridge: Despite only playing eight games this season, Surridge (9g/0a) is squarely in contention for the Golden Boot presented by Audi and was named MLS Player of the Month for February and March.
Brian Schwake: In the midst of a breakout season, Schwake has been one of the league's top goalkeepers and was rewarded with his first-ever All-Star selection.

Need to know

Nashville entered the World Cup pause on a historic pace and they've got a league-best four All-Stars to show for it, as well as a Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year candidate in B.J. Callaghan on the sidelines.

Will their dominant first half of the MLS season transfer over as the Coyotes look to hold off Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF for the East's No. 1 seed?

Atlanta United

Standings

14th in Eastern Conference
11 points (3W-9L-2D)

Last game

Atlanta's first half of the season ended with a 2-0 loss at the Columbus Crew. On the bright side, they took points from three of the last five games before the World Cup break.

Players to watch

Miguel Almirón: Fresh off helping Paraguay reach the World Cup Round of 16, Almirón (0g/3a) will look to find his groove in MLS play.
Alexey Miranchuk: The Russian international has been a bright spot for the Five Stripes with a team-high seven goal contributions (5g/2a).
Emmanuel Latte Lath: A former MLS-record signing, Latte Lath has yet to have his breakout moment with Atlanta. The Ivory Coast international has tallied 2g/2a this year.

Need to know

Atlanta appointed Tata Martino as head coach ahead of the 2026 season, hoping to rekindle their glory days under the Argentine manager (see: winning MLS Cup 2018 as a second-year club).

The early returns show there's plenty of work to do, and the club's been busy in the summer transfer market by signing two international-caliber defenders from South America: Paraguay's Júnior Alonso and Chile's Paulo Díaz.