U.S. men's national soccer team to face Canada in World Cup qualifier at Nashville's Nissan Stadium in September

July 4 provided the ideal setting for some big news for Nashville soccer fans.

Music City was selected by the U.S. Soccer Federation as host for a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying game between the U.S. Men's National Team and Canada.

The Sept. 5 game will be at Nissan Stadium and will be the first home match of the qualifying campaign for the U.S.

Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on FS1, UniMás and TUDN.

The Tennessee Titans open the regular season Sept. 12 at Nissan Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals, seven days after the soccer match.  

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said Nashville was selected for the team's first home game because of the facilities and the city's soccer following. He wanted to assure the team of a home-field advantage and is confident local fans will provide that at Nissan Stadium.

“We know that one of the things critical to our success in World Cup qualifying is having a strong home crowd and winning our home games,” Berhalter said. “When I think about the stadium, the field, and a crowd that’s full of energy, there's no better place to kick off our home World Cup qualifying series than in Nashville. It’s a vibrant city, and we look forward to playing there.”

Currently home to Nashville SC, Nashville has a history of supporting the U.S. for international matches and drawing large crowds.

The U.S. began its march to the CONCACAF Gold Cup title on July 8, 2017, by playing to a 1-1 draw with Panama in front of 47,622 fans at Nissan Stadium — then a record attendance for a soccer game in Tennessee.

A year later, 40,194 fans witnessed the first international goal scored by Tyler Adams and a stout U.S. defensive effort, which resulted in a 1-0 victory against Mexico.

Most recently, the U.S. defeated Jamaica, 3-1, in the 2019 semifinals of the Gold Cup in Nashville before a crowd of 28,473. The U.S. record in Nashville is 4-2-1.

The game against Canada will be part of the "triple date" to open World Cup qualifying as the U.S. will play three matches in seven days.

In the first game on Sept. 2, the U.S. will travel to El Salvador and play at the 53,000-seat Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador. The U.S. will play Honduras in San Pedro Sula on Sept. 8.

Under the new qualifying format, a total of eight teams — up from six in previous cycles — will compete in the final round of World Cup qualifying out of the CONCACAF region, with the top three teams advancing to play in the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. The fourth-place team can advance via an intercontinental playoff in June 2022. 

The 10 matches in the final round typically had been played during the course of 18 months. Because of schedule changes related to COVID-19 and the new format, each team will play 14 matches over seven months.

Follow Mike Organ on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.