Nashville SC made a major tactical shift for the first leg of their Round One MLS Cup Playoff series against Inter Miami on Friday.
Head coach BJ Callaghan moved away from the 4-2-2-2 formation that has been his standard for nearly all of 2025, shifting instead to a 4-3-3 shape. It's a shape that Nashville have used sporadically this season, but with a different emphasis.
Let's dive into the tape, comparing it to what Callaghan said post-match, to see how the change in tactics worked for Nashville SC.
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In defense
After getting hammered 5-2 by Miami on Decision Day, less than a week before this match, they went into the playoff match looking to eliminate the half-spaces, the areas where the Herons did a lot of their damage from buildup.
In the past, this shape has been used by Nashville to provide shuttlers on either side of Gastón Brugman, allowing him to sit in a deeper role and quarterback the attack. There was no such attacking emphasis in Ft. Lauderdale, with Bryan Acosta instead in midfield purely as a defensive presence to try and force Miami into wide areas.
— - (@back_post_run) October 26, 2025
Despite the scoreline, this actually worked quite well! Nashville held Miami to 1.90 expected goals, less than half what they created in Nashville on Decision Day and the sixth-lowest total of any home match for the Herons this season. It was largely because of the three-man midfield, with Patrick Yazbek and Eddi Tagseth covering loads of ground in the half-spaces.
— - (@back_post_run) October 27, 2025
You can see in this clip how narrow Nashville's back four stay. This means that Tagseth and Yazbek are tasked with sliding out to cover the fullback whenever Miami play the ball out wide. This worked when Nashville were able to stay compact, keeping the defense, midfield and forward lines within a few yards of each other, and staying narrow to keep bodies close to the ball. To their credit, they did a good job of this for most of the game.
