Nashville SC drew 2-2 with Orlando City in their third match of the 2026 preseason, with Hany Mukhtar getting on the scoresheet.
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The XI
With just 10 days to go before the 2026 campaign starts for real, head coach BJ Callaghan named a full-strength lineup.
Here's how Nashville SC line up for their preseason match against Orlando City Schwake; Bauer, Woledzi, Palacios, Nájar; Tagseth, Yazbek; Muyl, Espinoza; Surridge, Mukhtar The match will be 120 minutes.
— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) 2026-02-07T17:08:03.673Z
Maxwell Woledzi and Jeisson Palacios formed the center back pairing, with Eddi Tagseth and Patrick Yazbek in midfield. The Designated Player trio of Cristian Espinoza, Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge started in attack.
With the match set to last for 120 minutes (90 minutes plus a 30-minute extra time period), the 'Yotes made wholesale changes at the 60th minute.
Full shift change in the 60th minute Willis; Lovitz, Williams, Palacios, Knight; Corcoran, Acosta; Qasem, Mohammed; Madrigal, Pacius
— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) 2026-02-07T18:20:35.320Z
Dan Lovitz resumed his usual spot at left back, with Jordan Knight on the right. Ahmed Qasem and Shak Mohammed played in the wide attacking roles, while Warren Madrigal and Woobens Pacius continued building their partnership up front.
In extra time, Xavier Valdez, Isaiah LeFlore, Chris Applewhite, Nick Pariano, Charles-Émile Brunet and Maxiumus Ekk all got on the pitch.
On the pitch
The two sides entered halftime deadlocked at 0-0. Hany Mukhtar opened the scoring for the Boys in Gold, heading home a corner kick from Cristian Espinoza to take a lead early into the second period. Orlando equalized shortly after.
Hany with a BULLET 😮💨🫡 pic.twitter.com/IaYSw3Idtm
— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) February 7, 2026
After nearly a full lineup change in the 60th minute, Nashville again took the lead. Bryan Acosta picked out Warren Madrigal, who found the net for his second-consecutive game. Nashville took the lead to the end of 90 minutes, and after more lineup changes, Orlando equalized in the 30-minute extratime period.
"I think out of what we were able to do, I thought the mid-block shape was really a positive for us," Callaghan said after the match. "Within that, I thought the chances that we were able to create came out of some transition opportunities, and also attacking set-piece opportunities, which were basically connected to us having the chance to kind of counter-attack a little bit.
"And when we didn't finish the attack, they ended in sort of attacking set-pieces, corner kicks. And so for us, that was where I would say a lot of the positives and a lot of the scoring chances came from."
Takeaways
Cristian Espinoza on corner kicks?
Nashville's opener came from a corner kick, taken by Cristian Espinoza. The former San Jose Earthquakes winger has been one of the best dead-ball specialists in MLS. His 22 assists from set pieces are tied for the most since he joined the 'Quakes in 2019, and 19 of those came from corner kicks.
Hany Mukhtar has been excellent from free kicks in his own right, scoring five goals since 2020. But his corner kick delivery has often been wanting. Getting Espinoza on corner kicks makes sense, and also allows Mukhtar – an elite finisher – to stay in the box.
Jonathan Pérez absent
Winger Jonny Pérez didn't feature in the match amid transfer interest from Mexican powerhouse Chivas. Afterwards, BJ Callaghan confirmed that Nashville held him out in light of a potential move.
Ben Wright
"We held Jonny out of the game. We're obviously pursuing a... there's a transfer opportunity here. He's still here in camp. He's still part of the team," he said. "And I think it's customary that when some of those things occur, that we protect the best interest of the club and the best interest of the player. He's still currently a Nashville player."
Nashville acquired Pérez for $1.8 million in a cash transfer from the LA Galaxy in August.
Brian Schwake
While Callaghan hasn't publicly weighed in on the first-choice 'keeper, Brian Schwake has started every preseason match and got the bulk of the reps with the strongest lineups. He's a more natural fit for how Nashville want to play, and seeing him in goal this consistently just 10 days from the season seems to indicate that he'll start the season as the No. 1.
Up next
Nashville will play the Columbus Crew on Wednesday in Palm Beach Gardens, concluding their Florida camp. They'll return home for a friendly against Lexington SC on Saturday, February 14, and then begin their 2026 season on the road against Atlético Ottawa.
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