Hany Mukhtar & Walker Zimmerman. Photos: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Nashville SC is a top tier club on the pitch and in the stores, as their Johnny Cash-inspired Man in Black jersey is the second highest sold MLS jersey this year.

Nashville SC designated players Hany Mukhtar and Walker Zimmerman have the second and third top-selling Adidas jerseys in the league on MLSstore.com.

The Man in Black kit, which was unveiled on Feb. 17, was designed in collaboration with Cash’s estate, Sandbox Succession and Wasserman Music. The inspiration came as The Backline Supporters Collective, the club’s fans, unveiled their first ever MLS TIFO, featuring Cash alongside the Nashville SC logo prior to Nashville SC’s inaugural MLS match against Atlanta United FC on Feb. 29, 2020.

Mukhtar, the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP, jumped from the 17th highest selling jersey in MLS last year to second this season, after a sensational campaign that saw him earn MVP honors and the Golden Boot in a 23-goal and 11-assist season last year.

Mukhtar has recorded a league-high 48 goal contributions of Nashville’s 71 goals (70.4 percent) since the start of last season. In 2023, the German attacker is tied with Atlanta United FC’s Thiago Almada (six goals, eight assists) for the lead in goal contributions with 14, tallying eight goals and recording six assists.

Zimmerman is coming off yet another sensational campaign both for Club and Country where the defender was selected to the MLS Best XI in 2022 for the fourth consecutive year, becoming the fifth player in MLS history to accomplish the feat.

Zimmerman represented the United States in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, anchoring the Stars and Stripes backline to a shutout performance against England and advancing to the Round of 16. The defender appeared in all four matches for the United States during the nation’s World Cup run.

Last season, he finished as the 10th highest selling jersey in MLS, leaping seven spots this season to third. To begin 2023, Zimmerman anchored Nashville SC’s backline to five shutouts in the club’s first 10 matches of the season, while allowing the fewest goals in MLS this season. He also made waves on Opening Day, scoring the first goal of Nashville’s 2023 campaign against New York City FC at GEODIS Park on Feb. 25.

Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Concacaf has launched a new club ranking system, which uses different metric systems to rank North American clubs. Currently, Nashville SC sits pretty at No. 13 overall.

The Concacaf Club Ranking is a ranking system that evaluates the strength of professional football clubs based on their performance in official domestic and international matches, and has ranked them based on their results since 2017. Its purpose is to accurately reflect their sporting strength at any given time.

To determine the ranking, matches are considered from the following competitions:

• Concacaf Champions League (CCL)
• Concacaf Regional Cups (Leagues Cup, Central American Cup and Caribbean Cup)
• Domestic first-division professional leagues
• Domestic Cups that qualify clubs for Concacaf Club competitions
• FIFA Club World Cup

The Concacaf Club Ranking is based on the Elo system, which involves updating the scores of both teams after each match with a zero-sum approach.

The updated ranking is based on the difference between the match’s outcome and its expected outcome. The match’s outcome is determined by whether the home team wins, there’s a draw or the away team wins. This outcome is only known after the match. Before the match, the expected outcome is calculated using the Concacaf Club Ranking scores of both teams and the home team’s advantage.

One club may exceed expectations and increase their Concacaf Club Ranking score, while their opponent may underperform and decrease their Concacaf Club Ranking score by the same amount. The difference between actual and expected outcomes determines the number of points clubs earn or lose, with wins over stronger opponents resulting in greater increases. This self-correcting system ensures fairness.

Several factors influence the number of points awarded in a game, such as the competition weight factor determined by the competition. The home advantage factor is only applicable when the team plays in their home stadium, rather than in other stadiums within their country. In knockout stages, the round result determines 50 percent of the score, while each match accounts for 25 percent until extra time, but before penalties. Additionally, after an international match, first-division clubs receive a league bonus that adjusts their scores by 10 percent of the points earned or lost by their domestic teams.

Hany Mukhtar. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Hany Mukhtar continues to showcase why he is the best player in MLS, scoring a hat trick against the Chicago Fire on Saturday (May 6) to give Nashville SC their second straight win.

“It feels good. I had a couple of assists last game, and it’s good to be back on the scoring sheet,” said Mukhtar postgame. “I think for us it was very important to get back-to-back wins, and we controlled the game. I really liked that even with the ball we made progress. I think we controlled the game from the first to the last minute. Even though in the second half they had a couple periods with good ball position, I think we were, at any time in the game, in control.”

Even with a few poor displays, Nashville SC stayed on target by playing brilliant defense in the past three MLS matches, but it was Mukhtar who was creating the offense. He scored against LAFC, then assisted two goals and set up another against Atlanta United and now, a hat trick just 11 games into the season.

Saturday’s match was the first humid game of the MLS season and despite the elements, Mukhtar played a full 90 minutes, creating chances from the kickoff whistle all the way into stoppage time after the 90th minute. The team started off real fast with some great momentum, getting corners and catching Chicago’s backline off guard. This effort led to a penalty draw in the 45th minute, and Mukhtar scored with ease.

In just 11 games, nine in which he has started, Mukhtar has six goals and five assists—scoring or assisting a goal in each of Nashville SC’s last four games.

“He’s been absolutely fantastic for this team and this franchise there is no doubt about it,” said Head Coach Gary Smith postgame. “But I’d also add that he’s a fabulous person and he’s a very very hard working lad. This isn’t just a result of somebody turning up at the weekend and using their talent to the best degree, he works very hard in the week. He’s constantly trying to refine, whether it’s set pieces or individual work in the choices he’s making and I think you can see the benefits and results in that.”

Nashville had their dips in offensive pace and even started off the second half pretty lethargic. However, the backline led by Shaq Moore, Dan Lovitz, Jack Maher and Lukas MacNaughton, who filled in for a Walker Zimmerman, held Chicago to just five total shots and three shots on target. MacNaughton was a gameday decision and did not disappoint in his Nashville SC debut.

Along with Mukhtar, youngster Jacob Shaffelburg displayed  his incredible speed and drew the second penalty. Shaffelburg on the left side of the pitch creates a whole new element with Mukhtar in the mix of it. Early in the game, we saw how Chicago just couldn’t keep up with Nashville SC’s pace, proving that Shaffelburg’s speed on and off the ball really is a game changer for the club.

“The first period I thought that left hand side for us was a really productive area and I know I’ve said this a couple times, but when you’ve got guys who are so electric quick, [and] you’re not and you’re playing against them, there’s a fear factor. There’s a concern,” said Smith. “You’ve got to give yourself a bit more space, you’ve got to deny any opportunity to run in behind, because you’re never going to catch them. And, I thought we had some very very good moments down that left hand side, and maybe there were a couple more to be had.”

Nashville moved up to third place in the Eastern Conference standings with 18 points after Atlanta United fell to Inter Miami. The Boys in Gold have a midweek matchup against FC Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup this Wednesday, May 10 at GEODIS Park before hitting the road to face D.C. United on Saturday, May 13.

Lukas MacNaughton. Photo: Courtesy of Toronto FC

Nashville Soccer Club has acquired Canadian international Lukas MacNaughton in a trade with Toronto FC that sent forward CJ Sapong to the Canadian club in exchange for the centerback, $125,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money (GAM) and $75,000 in conditional 2025 GAM, if Sapong meets certain performance metrics. MacNaughton will be available for selection upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate.

The defender joined Toronto FC in the 2022 preseason from the Canadian Premier League (CPL) club Pacific FC. Since then, he has started in 22 of 28 Major League Soccer regular season matches with Toronto. Just three weeks ago, MacNaughton subbed in at halftime to preserve a scoreless draw for the Reds against Nashville SC at GEODIS Park.

CJ Sapong. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Prior to joining Toronto FC, MacNaughton made 29 appearances for Pacific FC, with whom he won the CPL Championship in 2021. In three seasons there, he made 59 combined appearances between CPL and Canadian Championship competition, registering five goals and one assist.

During the summers of 2016 and 2017, MacNaughton played for the North Toronto Nitros in League1 Ontario, before moving to Alliance United FC in 2018. While in that league, he registered a total of 17 appearances, before signing with Pacific FC in 2019.

Born to international parents in New York, MacNaughton, who holds three different passports (Canada, United States, and Belgium), earned his first international call to Canada Men’s National Team in November of 2022 coming in as a sub in a friendly match against Bahrain ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. 

Sapong joined Nashville SC in 2021 through a trade with Chicago Fire FC. In two and a half seasons as a Boy in Gold, the 34-year-old forward registered 17 goals and 10 assists in 74 matches.

Nashville SC will host two matches this week starting with the Third Round of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at 7 p.m. CT tomorrow (April 26) against San Antonio FC. Nashville SC will then return to MLS action at 12:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 29 against rival Atlanta United FC.