Nashville SC played soccer for the first time in more than two months. And though the result doesn’t line up with the club’s high expectations for 2026, it’s a secondary concern for coach B.J. Callaghan.
Nashville lost 4-1 to the Chicago Fire on Jan. 20 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in its first preseason game ahead of what might be its most anticipated MLS season ever. Although the match was 90 minutes, starters played for only about half an hour, with backups and players from Huntsville City FC getting the rest of the action.
“For us, it’s more about setting clear objectives of what we worked on this week,” Callaghan said. “Being clear with how we’re going to evaluate in the game, which would be on certain objectives, a couple phases of play that we were focused on.”
Here are additional takeaways from the game against the Fire, as well as Nashville’s first week of the preseason.
Nashville not at peak fitness
Nashville SC arrived in Florida on Jan. 12 and will play four of its six preseason matches there, with the next against the Colorado Rapids on Jan. 23. The team will practice in Nashville for a week ahead of an exhibition at USL club Birmingham Legion on Jan. 31, go back to Florida for two more games and finally face Lexington SC in Nashville on Feb. 14, two days before its CONCACAF Champions Cup opening match at Atletico Ottawa.
Nashville dealt with several injuries in its past two preseason training camps, but Callaghan said the team is almost fully healthy, with only one player, Huntsville forward Alioune Ka, sitting out against the Fire.
That doesn’t mean Nashville would be ready to play a competitive game tomorrow.
“The fitness component is getting there,” Callaghan said. “It’s growing in the right direction, but we’re not where we need to be. We’re not 90-minute fit for sure. But it’s intentional, and we’re gonna build through this preseason.”
Nashville’s first MLS game is Feb. 21 against the New England Revolution at Geodis Park (7:30 p.m. CT).
Full-strength lineup
Nashville’s starting lineup looked like a full-strength group. Brian Schwake started at goalkeeper, while new signing Maxwell Woledzi paired with Jeisson Palacios at center back. Dan Lovitz and Andy Najar started at left and right back, respectively.
Edvard Tagseth and Patrick Yazbek held down central midfield, with Alex Muyl and Cristian Espinoza playing on the wings and Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge up front in attack.
Callaghan said Nashville started out in the 4-2-2-2 formation, which was its primary setup in 2025. While that remained the base throughout the 90 minutes, Nashville tweaked that shape at different moments.
Frontline connection
Espinoza, the club’s newest designated player, worked for the first time with the other two DPs, Mukhtar and Surridge. The trio didn’t produce any goals, but created a few opportunities, according to Callaghan.
“They bring different dynamics, whether it’s playing between the lines, running behind, being able to get service,” Callaghan said. “It’s about creating that connection, that chemistry between those three. But at the same time, it’s also making sure that we’re well dialed-in on the defensive side.”
Midfielder Charles-Emile Brunet scored Nashville’s lone goal on a long shot during the third and final shift, which consisted largely of trialists and draft picks. Brunet was Nashville’s third-round pick in December’s MLS SuperDraft out of SMU.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC MLS preseason takeaways, what we learned
