Nashville SC out of MLS is Back Tournament, Chicago to Group B

Nashville is the second club to be removed from the tournament after FC Dallas was withdrown for a similar number of positive tests.

As a consequence of Nashville and Dallas’s removal, eastern conference side Chicago Fire FC moves to group B.

Chicago will fill in FC Dallas’s place in the group, competing against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders, and San Jose Earthquakes.

Following the removal of Nashville and re-alignment of Chicago, the tournament now has a proper World Cup-style feel. The group stage will now consist of four teams in six groups. This means the top two teams of each group will advance to the knockout stage, joined by the four best third-place finishers.

There is no word on what FC Dallas and Nashville SC’s results will mean in terms of points in the regular season, as those decisions have yet to be made.

According to Tenorio’s report, the team voted to stay in the tournament, but it seems that league decision-makers have overruled. Originally their opening night match against Chicago had been postponed.

There is no word on when Chicago will begin their Group B fixtures, but first on the docket will likely be Vancouver. As follows it is also safe to assume their matches against Seattle and San Jose will replace the originally scheduled fixtures against FC Dallas.