Tigres UANL’s 1-0 win away at Nashville SC at GEODIS Park has the northern Mexico side with one and a half feet in the Champions Cup final. Guido Pizarro’s team got the job done with an away goal, which basically means B. J. Callaghan’s squad now needs to win in Monterrey by 2-1, 3-2, or by two goals or more to advance. In other words: go into one of the most intense stadiums in Mexico and casually pull off a comeback. Easy, right?
The other team that picked up a big win on Wednesday—but nowhere near a decisive one—was Los Angeles FC, who beat Toluca 2-1 at BMO Stadium thanks to a last-minute goal from Nkosi Tafari. LAFC showed exactly why they’re one of the strongest teams in MLS… but now they have to close out the series away against the Liga MX back-to-back champions. And yes, that’s about as comfortable as it sounds.
Toluca’s Reaction
Despite the 2-1 loss, Toluca jefe Antonio Mohamed—aka “El Turco”—admitted his frustration but pointed to the away goal scored by Alexis Angulo as a lifeline:
“We’ve been here before. The away goal gives us some peace of mind. We don’t like losing, but it helps. The second half wasn’t what we wanted, but we know at home it’s a different story.”
And he’s not wrong. Toluca hasn’t lost at Estadio Nemesio Diez since July 26, 2025—ironically, against Tigres. That’s a 20-game unbeaten run. Twenty.
MLS teams, in particular, haven’t exactly enjoyed their trips to “El Infierno.” The most recent victim? LA Galaxy, who left with a 4-2 loss in the first leg of the quarterfinals. Before that, San Diego FC got smacked 4-0 in the Round of 16 second leg, with a 6-3 aggregate going Toluca’s way.
“Tonight is history. We have to think about what’s next. At home, it will be different. Today is done, we can’t change it. I’m thinking positively—we need to do more,” Mohamed added.
Could LAFC Triumph?
Meanwhile, Marc Dos Santos’s LAFC might just be the team that finally cracks the red wall. The scary part? They don’t even need to win—any draw sends them through. Now the real question: can they survive the offensive firepower of Mohamed’s side, the same one that casually put six past San Diego FC and seven past LA Galaxy over two legs?
Dos Santos, however, had bigger concerns—like the schedule, which he clearly loved (read: hated):
“Do they not want us in the final? MLS has to help MLS teams.”
“Who is the genius? … I want to meet that guy.”
“When I play PlayStation, my players run all game… they’re never tired. Real life isn’t like that.”
Fair point.
The May 6 clash at the Nemesio Diez is shaping up to be an early final between two of the best teams from their respective leagues, packed with top-level talent and absolutely zero margin for error.
Tigres Face a Packed Schedule
Back to Tigres vs Nashville: the MLS side is forced to chase the game and might catch a Tigres team that isn’t exactly in peak form. Oh—and Tigres also kicks off its Liga MX playoff run this weekend against Chivas. So yes, they’ll be juggling a high-stakes domestic clash and a continental semifinal within days. What could possibly go wrong?
“Those were just the first 90 minutes. We played a great match against a great opponent and handled it well. We had chances and controlled the tempo at times. We know there are 90 minutes left, and at home we’ll put in a great performance,” Pizarro said after the win in Nashville.
On the other side, Nashville visits Philadelphia Union on Saturday—arguably one of the more manageable matchups in MLS—so they might rotate their squad and arrive fresher for the decisive second leg in Mexico.
2nd Leg Thoughts
The below is Hooligan’s totally unbiased prediction for the Champions Cup second leg matches.
— Tigres will finish the job against Nashville, and Toluca will complete the comeback against LAFC.
— Which means… an all-Liga MX final in the Champions Cup.
Because of course it does.
We also recommend: https://hooligan-soccer.com/mexico-confirms-first-world-cup-call-ups/
