D.C. United vs. Nashville SC: Preview, time, and how to watch
D.C. United will look to finally return to winning ways against Nashville SC tonight at Buzzard Point. The Black-and-Red will have their work cut out for them, though, facing off against a solid, 8th-place Nashville team as they seek to climb out of the Eastern Conference basement.
For their part, Nashville will be looking to snap their own winless streak, having been beaten 4-1 by Portland last Sunday. They are unbeaten against D.C. United and have won once and drawn twice at Audi Field. The Boys in Gold will also get a lift from the good news that defender Walker Zimmerman was just named to the US Men’s Olympic Soccer Team.
The Black-and-Red have been in a slump, winless since May. They were routed in Orlando this past week, losing 5-0, and will be eager to regain traction this season. Lucas Bartlett will also sit out tonight’s match due to a red card booking during the matchup with the Lions.
Head coach Troy Lesesne remains laser-focused on the team’s purpose and the quest for results, saying, “We all have a great understanding of what our purpose is. And we understand the path that we’re trying to take to get there. That doesn’t mean that it’s going to go the way we expect it to go every single match or every single week. There’s going to be different highs and different lows throughout the season, but that purpose doesn’t change.”
Hear everything head coach Troy Lesesne had to say at the pre-game press conference here.
Let us know your thoughts about tonight’s match in the comments below.
Key Player: Christian Benteke
We’re all looking for some Benteke magic against the Boys in Gold tonight. The veteran striker has been a major difference-maker for the Black-and-Red for much of the season, and we hope to see him in fine form.
Watch Out For: Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar has given D.C. United a run for their money in the past, recording three goals and two assists that contributed to devastating scorelines for the Black-and-Red.
Challenges: Inconsistency and the need to secure results will continue to haunt the Black-and-Red as they try to turn the tide of a tough 2024.
Previously: D.C. United has never beaten Nashville SC, with a record of 0-4-2. The Boys in Gold have won once and drawn twice at Audi Field.
D.C. United Availability:
Out: Conner Antley (knee), Steven Birnbaum (hip), Russell Canouse (not due to injury), Kristian Fletcher (ankle), Jackson Hopkins (back)
Disciplinary: Lucas Bartlett (DC) – Suspended: Red Card – DOGSO
Questionable: None
Nashville SC Availability:
Out: Julian Gaines (ankle), Anibal Godoy (lower body), Randall Leal (hip), Lukas MacNaughton (ankle), Jacob Shaffelburg (international duty)
Disciplinary: Brian Anunga (NSH) – Suspended: Red Card – Serious Foul Play
Questionable: None
Location: Audi Field, Washington, DC
Kickoff time: 7:30 pm ET
Referee: Filip Dujic
Available streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
A goal off a long throw…then Dájome with a horrible back pass that Bono can’t keep from going out…
….Stroud seems to be the only player with shooting boots on tonight…then Rodríguez gets KDP a great chance who puts it in the side netting…
Yep. Ku needs to force a save, at least
Christian Dajome, step on up. He’s not a perfect player, but with a decent team around him I think he fits well into Lesesnes high octane style.
Ha, congrats, for one night, seems he’s a great player.
I’ll take it to break the streak, but Steve Martin once said, “anyone can be great for a night. Being good every night is hard.”
Eh. His end product has been lacking but he’s been decent at the high press and he’s basically our only speed threat. I think it’s unlikely he keeps his place in the team once Schnegg arrives but he could be extremely useful as a bench option down the stretch.
It’ll be interesting to see if Mackay can negotiate a lower salary for him or if we cut bait. If he was closer to a 500k hit then I think he’d be worth keeping.
And just like that, Dajome has a brace. One standing on the shoulders of Herrera’s shot put out for a corner and Benteke’s header… the second absolutely lethal blast
Oh nice backhwel pass to Santos from Peltola.
Wait we won? We won! Is that allowed?
Amazing! At laaaaaaaast!
I saw an article using “victory” and “DC United” in the same sentence. What is this “victory” they write about?
Congrats to Dajome on the brace. I thought Santos had his best game of this season–is vision, switching play, touches, take-away/dispossessions–all excellent. It’s a shame he’s lost 2 steps. Pirani continues to show some amazing individual skill and a lack of vision and finishing touch. Love Stroud’s effort, work-rate and….he can’t finish. Peltola wasn’t perfect tonight but he covered a lot of ground and did a lot of good work defensively. Our pressure created a lot of chances tonight but boy, we can’t finish worth a damn.
It’s fabulous they finally won. There have been flashes of inspiration in recent games — from Santos (free kick goal), Rodriguez, Pirani, and now Dajome. They seem to have substituted for Benteke, whose offense has gone into hibernation. That’s all very surprising, given how much they’ve been fairly criticized for meager production and big wages.It still seems hard to make a case for any of those players to get new deals. I guess Pirani will be back because he has time remaining on his deal.
Anyway, it’s nice to see them finally produce. Muller and Ku DiPietro often seem far more dangerous, but the final touch hasn’t been there.
We don’t have the quality of other teams — can’t match any of the 4 attackers that Portland (Evander, Johnny, Mora, Moreno), LA Galaxy (Puig, Pec, Jovelic, Paintsil), or the trios in Columbus (Cucho, Ramirez and Rossi) and Cincinnati (Acosta, Orellano and Kubo), or even the duo for LAFC (Bouanga and Bogusz). And those teams have other role players who have outscored anyone on DC besides Benteke, or provided more assists than almost anyone on DC (only Stroud has more assists than Yamil Asad). Even if Dajome and Rodriguez are finally getting chances to contribute, and the attack is looking better, we’re not going to be competing for any honors, without major upgrades.
I’ll modestly push back. I don’t think it’s that Benteke’s offense has gone in to hibernation. This game, every time there was a cross, Benteke was sandwiched by 2 defenders. As a team, we don’t finish well. And the team needs to exploit all the attention Benteke gets from opposing defenses.
There has also been a concerted effort to shut down the service to Benteke, which has also been effective.
I pretty much lived at Buzzard Point this last weekend.
1)Scotland vs USA rugby was true fun, and the fans of both squads did the local area proud pre and post game.
2) Nice to see Russell Canouse at the game, seems very much on the mend.
3) The win over Nashville set the table for the finals of Euro and Copa, which did not disappoint (but for idiots trying to crash the gates in Miami without tickets).
The summer of 2024 soccer orgy has ended…..
Naw, we still have the Olympics. More condoms required.
Good point.
I too, Doc96, followed your same schedule. However, the wait to get into Buzzard Point on Friday for the rugby match was almost twenty minutes! Only two checkpoints!!! Totally unacceptable!!!
Gate B was wide open. We were even directed there.
Reading some of Lesesne’s post-game thoughts, it seemed like the players held themselves accountable for the miserable game against Orlando. A sign of a good locker room for sure, but I’m hoping they have the energy to hold on through this last miserable midweek game. Not that there’s much of a break. At least we’ll have a few new guys to provide relief and competition.
Dájome makes the team of the matchday.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/team-of-the-matchday-columbus-crew-charlotte-fc-reach-another-level
Dájome’s game winner is up for goal of the week
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/vote-for-goal-of-the-matchday-mls-matchday-26-x1491