AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Sam Surridge converted a penalty in the 60th minute and Nashville SC won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 victory over Austin FC on Wednesday night.
Hany Mukhtar also scored for Nashville, which secured a spot in the 2026 CONCACF Champions Cup with the victory. It was the first major trophy for the club, which joined Major League Soccer in 2020.
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Nashville SC players celebrate their win over Austin FC in an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Austin FC midfielder Ilie S·nchez, left, heads the ball past Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar (10) during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar (10) celebrates his goal against Austin FC during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC defender Jack Maher (5) kicks the ball and Austin FC forward Diego Rubio (21) during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar, center, celebrates with teammates after his goal against Austin FC during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge (9) celebrates his goal against Austin FC during the second half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The U.S Open Cup, which dates to 1914, is the oldest soccer competition in the United States.
“I think it is important for us that we know that we can do it, that we can win a trophy,” said Mukhtar, who has been with the club since it joined MLS. “It gives us extra confidence for the rest of the (MLS) season.”
Mukhtar gave Nashville the early lead with a shot that sailed into the upper corner just out of the reach of Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver in the 17th minute
Austin had a good chance to equalize less than 10 minutes later after goalkeeper Brian Schwake's foul on Myrto Uzuni. But Schwake denied Uzuni's penalty attempt.
Uzuni got redemption with a left-footed goal to the far corner in first-half stoppage time and the teams went into the break at Q2 Stadium tied at 1-1.
Austin's Dani Pereira fouled Jeisson Palacios in the box for a penalty. Surridge stepped up and converted for his tournament-best sixth goal. Surridge was sent off with a red card in stoppage time.
“I think this year we showed we can control games with the ball. That is a big improvement. And I still believe we have at least one step to go to be a top team, to be one of the best teams in this league,” Mukhtar said. “But I think we've showed over long periods this season that we can compete, we can keep the ball, we can be aggressive against the ball. I'm very proud of this team.”
Nashville's last final was in the Leagues Cup two years ago but the team missed out on a trophy, falling on a penalty shootout to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
Actor Matthew McConaughey, an Austin FC owner and the team's “Minister of Culture,” was among those at the match.
The final featured an all-woman on-field officiating crew for the first time that included referee Tori Penso and assistants Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt.
The U.S. Open Cup is open to both professional and amateur clubs but Major League Soccer teams have dominated the competition for more than two decades.
The last time a non-Major League Soccer team made it to the final was in 2022 when the USL Championship-level Sacramento Republic played Orlando City.
The last time a non-MLS team won the event was in 1999 when the Rochester Rhinos defeated the Colorado Rapids.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Nashville SC players celebrate their win over Austin FC in an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Austin FC midfielder Ilie S·nchez, left, heads the ball past Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar (10) during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar (10) celebrates his goal against Austin FC during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC defender Jack Maher (5) kicks the ball and Austin FC forward Diego Rubio (21) during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar, center, celebrates with teammates after his goal against Austin FC during the first half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge (9) celebrates his goal against Austin FC during the second half of an U.S. Open Cup final soccer match in Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.
Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.
The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.
“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.
Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.
On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.
Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”
“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.
Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.
Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.
The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”
On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”
“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.
Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.
The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.
“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.
Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.
“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.
Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”
Speaking on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact despite the Washington meeting, but she welcomed the creation of the working group.
The most important thing for Greenlanders is that they were directly represented at the meeting in the White House and that “the diplomatic dialogue has begun now,” Juno Berthelsen, a lawmaker for the pro-independence Naleraq opposition party, told AP.
A relationship with the U.S. is beneficial for Greenlanders and Americans and is “vital to the security and stability of the Arctic and the Western Alliance,” Berthelsen said. He suggested the U.S. could be involved in the creation of a coastguard for Greenland, providing funding and creating jobs for local people who can help to patrol the Arctic.
Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”
Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”
Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)
Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
