"A trophy is a trophy, doesn't matter which trophy." That's Hany Mukhtar's philosophy, and given that Nashville SC are the reigning U.S. Open Cup champions, it's one worth taking seriously.
MLS confirmed on September 2 that all 27 of its U.S.-based clubs will return to the 2027 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup — ending a period in which MLS drastically scaled back its Open Cup involvement to make room for the Leagues Cup. At its lowest point, only eight MLS sides entered. Nashville SC won the 2025 edition with 16 clubs competing. Now the field expands to 96 teams, professional and amateur alike.
For Mukhtar, the format hits close to home.
A German's appreciation for cup football
Growing up in Germany, Mukhtar watched the DFB-Pokal do what domestic cups do best — produce chaos, produce upsets, and make giants sweat against sides three divisions below them. That experience shaped how he sees knockout competition. "Being from Germany, the DFB-Pokal is very, very meaningful," he told reporters. "A cup is a very unique setup, because it's win or go home. I like that mentality."
It's not just sentiment. Win-or-go-home football is a different animal from a league campaign, and Nashville SC showed last year they've got the stomach for it. They started their 2025 run against Chattanooga Red Wolves of USL League One and ended it as Tennessee's first professional sporting team to win a major title. That's a run worth defending.
Except they couldn't defend it. MLS's Leagues Cup commitments pushed Nashville out of the 2026 competition entirely. The 2027 return isn't just a calendar footnote — it's a chance to prove last year wasn't a one-off.
What the expanded format means
MLS clubs will enter in the Round of 64, starting in July, with opponents drawn on geography. That means Nashville SC will almost certainly open against a lower-division side from the South — similar to the Chattanooga matchup that began their title run. The 20-man gameday roster rules also allow clubs to blend first-team players with MLS Next Pro and academy talent, which gives depth squads a genuine pathway onto the big stage.
Coach B.J. Callaghan didn't undersell it: "The Open Cup is the most historic trophy in this country and I think it's great that every single team that plays professional soccer, amateur soccer can enter and compete."
The 2027 tournament also lands during MLS's structural shift to a summer-through-spring schedule ahead of the 2027-28 season, so the timing isn't accidental — the Open Cup becomes a fixture in the new calendar rather than a scheduling inconvenience.
For anyone tracking Nashville SC's trophy odds next cycle, Mukhtar's mindset alone should factor in. He's not treating the Open Cup as a distraction from league duties. He's treating it as another trophy to win.
