NASHVILLE, TN - It wasn't a pretty match, but Nashville scrapped to a 1-0 win over Toronto FC on Saturday night, extending their home unbeaten streak to 11 matches and temporarily moving into first place in the Supporters' Shield standings.
The XI
Head coach BJ Callaghan opted for a center back pairing of Walker Zimmerman and Jeisson Palacios, also giving Ahmed Qasem the start in place of the suspended Jonny Pérez.
Nashville SC Starting XI vs Toronto FC Willis; Lovitz, Zimmerman ©, Palacios, Nájar; Tagseth, Brugman; Muyl, Qasem; Surridge, Mukhtar BENCH: Schwake, Maher, Acosta, Yazbek, Bunbury, Corcoran, Bauer, Gaines, Carleton
— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) 2025-07-19T23:33:19.487Z
On the pitch
With chances at both ends, Nashville took the lead in the first half. A driving run from Hany Mukhtar forced goalkeeper Sean Johnson into a save. The USMNT veteran parried the rebound directly into the path of Sam Surridge, though, and the in-form striker buried it for his 18th goal of the season, pulling one in front of Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot lead.
Make that 1⃣8⃣ on the year for Sam 🦸♂️ pic.twitter.com/xwmpQ6RdBR
— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) July 20, 2025
Nashville continued to have chances. Surridge set Mukhtar up for a golden chance in the second half, playing a perfectly-weighted ball into his path for what should have been a routine finish, but Mukhtar held onto the ball a second too long and allowed Johnson to make an impressive save.
At the other end, Zimmerman looked initially like he'd conceded a penalty kick after the US international took down DeAndre Kerr on a breakaway, but video review showed that the contact came outside the box, giving Nashville a break.
Goals
- 28' | NSH | Sam Surridge
The big picture
It certainly wasn't as dominant as Wednesday night, but Nashville did enough to get the job done. Against a Toronto team that have quietly been resolute defensively and frustrating to play against (they just beat San Diego on the road last week), Nashville created enough chances to take a bigger lead.
Defensively, the Boys In Gold weren't nearly as sharp as usual, allowing Toronto to get in behind several times after mental lapses or poor clearances. Joe Willis had to make a couple interventions, and Palacios needed to step in at the last second to deny Toronto a late equalizer.
After three games in seven days, Nashville were clearly tired. They'll have a week to recover and prepare for San Diego before getting a two-week break before they start the home stretch.
Up next
After the All-Star game on Wednesday, Nashville will travel out west to take on San Diego FC late on Friday night.
Stats
Possession: NSH 52% – 48% TOR
Total Passes: NSH 416 – 383 TOR
Shots: NSH 10 – 7 TOR
Shots on goal: NSH 5 – 0 TOR
Penalty kicks: NSH 0 – 0 TOR
Goals: NSH 1 – 0 TOR
Expected goals: NSH 1.56 – 0.54 TOR
Fouls: NSH 14 – 8 TOR
Yellow cards: NSH 3 – 2 TOR
Red cards: NSH 0 – 0 TOR
Announced attendance: 28,786
