The last time Atlético Ottawa played a football match, they went viral.
Their snow-covered CPL Final victory over Cavalry FC, complete with David Rodríguez’s world-renowned icicle kick, was viewed more than a billion times. Nate Ingham’s snow shovelling of the pitch is one of the many other unforgettable images from that Nov. 9 night in the nation’s capital.
Having already generated global headlines, the club now begins 2026 by playing in international competition for the first time, facing Nashville SC on Tuesday in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on OneSoccer).
The match comes exactly 100 days after Atlético Ottawa lifted the North Star Cup — but is expected to look and feel quite different in terms of who is playing, as well as where and how it is played. The team itself has seen a lot of turnover over the past few months, including the departure of the man who scored the icicle kick, and the match-winner in the CPL Final en route to being named the match’s MVP, Rodríguez. Sam Salter, the club’s leading goalscorer, signed in Sweden with Allsvenskan club GAIS. Their Golden Glove-nominated goalkeeper, Ingham, joined rivals Cavalry, while captain Alberto Zapater retired.
So, if Atleti are to make some noise in their first Concacaf appearance, new heroes will need to emerge. There are plenty of candidates to play the role, including new goalkeeper Garrisone Innocent, Atlético San Luis loanees Jonantan Villal and Emiliano Garcia and Norwegian striker Erling Myklebust.
Despite this being the “home” leg for Atlético Ottawa in this two-legged tie, it will actually be played at Hamilton Stadium due to stadium construction at TD Place.
Even the weather is expected to be unseasonably warm, with no snow anticipated at Hamilton Stadium and above-freezing temperatures at kick-off. It certainly won’t be quite the factor that it was two weeks ago in Hamilton as Forge hosted Tigres UANL in conditions that felt like -13 C, nor, like the CPL Final, will snow disrupt proceedings. Nashville, of course, will be used to the cold, having played against northern opponents in MLS action.
But Tuesday will be an opportunity for Atlético Ottawa to continue their positive momentum and take the next step as a club. Having firmly entrenched themselves as one of Canada’s top teams over the past few years, they now want to prove they can compete at the continental level as well.
