Major League Soccer kicked off its MLS Is Back tournament on Wednesday night with Orlando defeating Inter Miami, 2-1. While the festivities are set to continue over the coming days and weeks, there was a major bump in the road on Monday when FC Dallas had to pull out due to a number of COVID-19 cases that popped up once the team arrived in Orlando.
Unfortunately, Dallas isn’t the only team that got put in this position due to the novel coronavirus spreading throughout its ranks. Nashville SC, one of the two expansion sides the league added for the 2020 campaign, will see its tournament conclude before it even begins, according to The Athletic.
Reporting with @jeffrueter and @MLSist: Nashville SC is out of the #MLSisBack tournament.
More to come on @TheAthleticSCCR
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) July 9, 2020
The news was confirmed by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Nashville SC is out of the MLS tournament, I’m told. Announcement shortly.
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) July 9, 2020
Nashville having to pull out isn’t particularly stunning, as MLS commissioner Don Garber previously said a decision would be made after nine cases of COVID-19 were identified among those who were with the squad for the tournament. The team’s first match of the tournament was supposed to occur on Wednesday but had already been canceled. With two teams dropping out, multiple reports indicate that MLS will adjust the way groups are constructed for the remainder of the tournament.
Also expecting league to announce group reconfiguration at some point today.
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) July 9, 2020
Source: Current plan is to move Chicago from Group A to Group B. Both groups would then have 4 teams. Both Nashville and Chicago will stay in the East for the rest of the 2020 season, should it indeed continue after the conclusion of the tournament. https://t.co/0I3YhXIhjA
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) July 9, 2020
As Stejskal noted in his tweet above, there is no word on how the league’s plan to have some sort of a regular season following the conclusion of its bubble league would be impacted due to Dallas and Nashville’s inability to compete.