Lionel Messi could be headed to the Music City — but Nashville SC has to get by C.F. Monterrey first.
Nashville will host Monterrey Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. at GEODIS Park in the semifinals of the Leagues Cup. Should Nashville beat the Liga MX side, it will face the winner of Tuesday's other semifinal between Messi's Inter Miami and the Philadelphia Union in Saturday's championship match.
The Leagues Cup is a competition comprised of MLS and Liga MX teams. The top three clubs qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League; the winner goes directly to the Round of 16, while the second- and third-place finishers qualify for the first round.
Nashville SC won at Minnesota United, 5-0, in Friday's quarterfinal, while Monterrey edged Los Angeles FC, 3-2, to advance to the semifinal.
GENTRY ESTES:Nashville SC is making a title run at home — and it may go through Lionel Messi
Nashville SC vs. C.F. Monterrey: Live score updates
Second half
Nashville SC advances to the Leagues Cup Final; Messi is next!
90+8' — The final whistle. Nashville SC advances to the Leagues Cup Final! Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will be in town on Saturday.
90+6' — GOAL! Fafa Picault plays the ball with some roof off the right side, cuts inside in the box and roofs a shot for the insurance. Nashville SC 2, CF Monterrey 0.
The Nashville SC bench ERUPTED after the goal. "We want Messi!" is the chant now from GEODIS Park.
90+5' — Mukhtar on the counter, working down the right side, is fouled a few yards outside the box. Could have been in on goal there.
90+3' — Funes Mori shot goes well wide.
90+2' — Cortizo, on a yellow card, with a physical foul on Godoy.
90' — Nashville is 60 seconds plus stoppage time away from the final.
Funes Mori shot headed for the far corner is just saved by Panicco. Wow. 6 minutes of stoppage time.
85' — The service for Sergio Canales leaves a lot to be desired for Monterrey so far.
Another Monterrey corner played out to the top of the box, and a shot with pace is punched away by Panicco. Best save of the night.
82' — Mukhtar with a great pass to get the Nashville counter attack going, and Shaq Moore's cross is out for a corner. It is played long, but to no avail.
Monterrey players and the bench are starting to increase in their unhappiness with the official. Cortizo given a yellow card for his protesting on an earlier play.
80' — Monterrey wins a corner, but a foul is given in the box on the corner kick to render it moot.
77' — Cortizo shot has Panicco stretching, but it is wide. Dax McCarty and Alex Muyl off, Sean Davis and Jack Maher on. Nashville now playing with three centerbacks.
75' — Nashville SC with some excellent work there, and Surridge heads into the net. But the offside flag is up, and rightly so.
73' — Walker Zimmerman does well in breaking up a possible counter attack.
72' — GEODIS Park is alive.
Nashville SC finally gets its goal — Hany Mukhtar to Sam Surridge
67' — GOAL! Sam Surridge with the goal for Nashville SC, who now leads 1-0. Dax McCarty wins a header at midfield and plays ahead for Hany Mukhtar. Mukhtar and Surridge have plenty of room to work, and Mukhtar plays Surridge to the left, who scores.
64' — Cortizo shot in a dangerous area is well high and wide. Monterrey is getting a lot of the ball right now.
62' — Funes Mori shot in a dangerous area is blocked by MacNaughton.
57' — VAR check for a possible penalty given to Monterrey, but nothing comes of it. It was close. Lukas MacNaughton did catch the Monterrey player, who stepped in front of MacNaughton before the foul. Contact was not what Monterrey made it to be, but could have been given too.
53' — Corner played long for Mukhtar, who crosses it short. It eventually goes to Dax McCarty close to goal but in traffic. The save is made. Nashville SC creating plenty of chances but need a goal.
51' — Surridge has been very much apart of things to start the half. Nice pass to Mukhtar, who chips on for Picault, but the shot is high.
46' — Substitutions for both teams. Sam Surridge on for Teal Bunbury.
First half
HALFTIME — Nashville SC 0-0 CF Monterrey. The hosts still wondering about the earlier goal disallowed by VAR. Mukhtar speaks to the game official.
37' — Another chance for Mukhtar is just off, and followed by a low Fafa Picault shot that is harmless and right to the keeper.
28' — Monterrey off the crossbar.
24' — Mukhtar set piece from left to right leads to a sliding Alex Muyl at the doorstep, but his shot goes wide.
19' — Sergio Canales' dangerous shot is saved by Panicco.
Abysmal VAR call takes Nashville SC goal off the board
15' — VAR has ruled Alex Muyl offside on the goal, presumably because he may have interrupted the eyesight of the goalkeeper on Mukhtar's goal.
Muyl is only in the vision of the keeper when the keeper is already diving to try to stop Mukhtar's shot. He was never getting to the shot, either. Muyl never impacted the play, and frankly the goalkeeper wouldn't have had a chance if no one was on the pitch. A bad, bad call by the VAR official.
Shaffelburg injured, and Fafa Picault comes on as an early sub.
12' — WHAT A GOAL! Hany Mukhtar with a curling shot from left to right. The MLS MVP strikes early off a nice counter that he started some 85 yards the other way.
11' — Nashville not comfortable with the ball right now in the defensive end. Mukhtar coming well back down the pitch to try and help things, but Panicco plays a poor pass which leads to another Monterrey shot that doesn't reach the target.
6' — Nashville being casual with the ball when trying to clear it out of the defensive third. That leads to a shot by Monterrey's Funes Mori that goes just wide.
4' — Mukhtar takes the first corner for Nashville, and it is punched away. He and Jacob Shaffelburg look pretty comfortable down the left side.
Here we go!
1' — Underway at GEODIS Park.
Monterrey's lineup tonight
Walker Zimmerman: "Probably the biggest game we've had"
Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman tells Apple TV during pregame that Tuesday's match is "probably the biggest game we've had" in franchise history.
The opportunity is immense, if only to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League with a win. But a bigger game looms on Saturday too.
Inter Miami into the Leagues Cup Final
Nashville SC lineup
Elliot Panicco is in goal. Recent forward addition Sam Surridge is on the bench.
Inter Miami leads 3-0 in other semifinal, thanks in part to a Messi goal
Follow along with ourNashville SC follower updates on Twitter.com.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
