The headlines keep coming across the Americas this week. Nashville SC backed up their round-of-16 upset of Inter Miami with the biggest win in club history, defeating Club América away at Estadio Azteca. The CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals will feature an all-MLS vs. Liga MX draw, the Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana roll on, and Argentina prepares for a Superclásico. Here are your headlines.
Nashville SC Stuns America
Club América left Nashville with a scoreless draw frustrated but not alarmed, confident they could dictate play and dominate at home in Mexico City. The altitude and atmosphere of Estadio Azteca didn’t unsettle Nashville in the slightest. América controlled possession and generated more shots, but Hany Mukhtar scored the only goal of the tie in the 51st minute — a composed finish from the 31-year-old midfielder who starred in Denmark before joining Nashville in 2020. The club’s supporters already adored him. That goal made him a legend.
More tellingly, Nashville won without striker Sam Surridge, and América’s failure to score across 180 minutes of knockout football exposes how badly their attack has been depleted. Manager André Jardine had hoped former Palmeiras man Raphael Veiga or Alejandro Zendejas, a player in the conversation for the US Men’s National Team, would provide answers going forward. Neither did.
América have been without solutions offensively for weeks now: winless since March 15th against Mazatlán in Liga MX and largely toothless in both league and cup competition. They sit 7th in the league, just inside the playoff positions, having scored 15 goals in 14 games. Chivas, top of the table, have 28 goals in that same span. 14th-place San Luis have scored 21. América are experimenting with what it looks like to play football without a functional forward line.
Liga MX vs MLS in CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals
While Nashville celebrated their semifinal berth over a seven-time champion, another seven-time winner in the competition, Cruz Azul, was eliminated by LAFC. The defending cup holders were dismantled. After LAFC built a 3-0 advantage in the first leg, Cruz Azul pushed hard at home, with Gabriel Fernández converting a penalty in the 18th minute. But LAFC held firm and drew 1-1 on the night, advancing by four goals. Cruz Azul fired 32 shots and had just six in return. Their attack lacked the quality to break through, while former France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was commanding — his composure and experience in a cup tie proving decisive.
Nashville’s semifinal opponent will be Tigres UANL. Inconsistent in Liga MX this season, Guido Pizarro’s Tigres side are finding form at the right moment. They edged past Seattle Sounders 3-3 on aggregate, advancing on away goals, with Joaquim scoring the away goal and an Albert Rusnak brace not enough for Seattle to overturn the deficit.
Tigres are comfortable sitting back and protecting leads — they’ll need that discipline against Nashville. They also arrive on a high after a 4-1 league victory over Chivas at the weekend, with a Liga MX playoff run still to come. They were finalists in the previous edition of Liga MX.
On the other side of the bracket, Toluca made light work of LA Galaxy, winning 7-2 on aggregate with a 3-0 victory in Los Angeles — Paulinho scoring a brace for the Mexican side. Their next opponent is Heung-min Son’s LAFC. Toluca remains the cream of the crop for Mexican football right now.
Inter Miami’s Javier Mascherano Steps Down as Manager
Javier Mascherano led Inter Miami to their first ever MLS Cup, but the legendary Argentine midfielder and close friend of Lionel Messi has stepped down as manager. Recent form in the league has been unconvincing, and Miami’s shocking exit against Nashville in the Champions Cup accelerated the end. Guillermo Hoyos takes over on an interim basis.
Mascherano, at times criticized for his tactical decisions but never for his commitment to the sport, leaves after just a couple of matches at the new Inter Miami stadium — a pair of draws against Austin FC and the New York Red Bulls.
His tenure ultimately ran into the same wall that has defined Miami’s identity: a squad that continues to concede goals through defensive errors and serious lapses in concentration. The mix of high-profile veterans who are not always fully fit and younger players auditioning for transfers to more famous leagues has left Miami caught in no man’s land. Lionel Messi cannot always be the fix for a structurally flawed roster, and it’s not his role to keep the ball out of the net. Hoyos will need to work to build some type of defensive identity for Inter Miami.
Miami’s remaining objectives this season are clear: defend the MLS Cup and win the Leagues Cup.
Argentina gears up for Superclasico, while Rivadavia stuns Fluminense
On Saturday the 19th of April, the hate fest between River Plate and Boca Juniors is on with River listed as favorites at Estadio Monumental. New manager Chacho Coudet has River rolling, the expensive squad is without defeat since February 22nd. They just thumped a solid Racing Club team 2-0 on the 12th, before a 1-0 win over Carabobo in the Copa Sudamericana. Young gun Kendy Paez and forward Sebastian Driussi have been in solid form early. When fit, #10 Juan Fernando Quintero, a Colombian international, is also a proven goalscorer and creator.
Boca Juniors will not waver in the clasico either, a 3-0 thumping of Barcelona SC in the Libertadores has them feeling good. Boca Juniors are without defeat since February 8th. The superstar for Boca is Argentine international Leandro Paredes and their squad quality and form looks good enough to force a draw.
In the Libertadores, Argentine clubs continued to perform well, Estudiantes beat Cusco, Rosario Central beat Libertad, and perhaps most notably, Independentie Rivadavia stunned Fluminense 2-1. In Rio, it’s the kind of result that sends shockwaves through South American football, Rivadavia are a trending, but small club in Argentine, and Fluminense with a more expensive squad were simply wasteful. Fluminense at 80% possession in the second half.
Brazilian clubs continue to show inconsistency in early Libertadores and Sudamericana Results
Colombian clubs have looked downright poor in the Libertadores round 2, with Nacional (Uruguay) defeating Tolima, Cerro Porteno over Junior, and Corinthians a routine 2-0 over Santa Fe, but it’s Brazilian clubs that are still being talked about. In addition to the defeat for Fluminense, Mirassol were crushed 2-0 against LDU Quito. At the time of publishing, Flamengo still has to face Medellin and Palmeiras takes on Sporting Cristal.
In the Sudamericana, results were also mixed, Sao Paulo, Botafogo and Gremio were winners, Vasco da Gama played much of their match with 10 men and fell to Chile’s Audax Italiano. Santos drew with Recoleta, and two more Brazilian clubs are still set to play on Thursday.
Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images
