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  "description": "The Boys in Gold have the highest-quality squad in the history of the club — will that be enough to deliver more silverware?",
  "path": "/analysis-breaking-down-nashville-scs-depth-2026/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-06T15:00:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.sixonefivesoccer.com",
  "tags": [
    "**Cristian Espinoza**",
    "Join today!",
    "Analysis: How Nashville SC could line upWhich formations make the most sense for the Boys In Gold in 2026?SixOneFive SoccerBen Wright",
    "returning from injury",
    "__Sofascore__",
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "After winning the 2025 U.S. Open Cup and signing **Cristian Espinoza**, Nashville SC have broken into the upper echelon of MLS teams. Seemingly every national pundit and most fans view the Boys in Gold as legit title contenders, something the club has never experienced so far.\n\nHaving All-Star players is nothing new to Music City; what _is_ unprecedented is having the required depth to compete at the highest level.\n\n\n\nSign up for a new annual membership during our preseason sale and save 25%!\n\n Join today! \n\nTo foster healthy competition within the squad, players are generally divided into three tiers: _starters_ , _challengers_ , and _rotation_. In the past, Nashville often fell short in the second and third tiers, which led to their top talents being overworked and losing steam at the most crucial points of the season.\n\nThe rebuilt process led by General Manager **Mike Jacobs** and his staff is entering its second season, and the squad seems more well-rounded than ever before. In 2026, **BJ Callaghan** will have more quality choices at his disposal than ever.\n\nLet's break down the depth of each position group!\n\nAnalysis: How Nashville SC could line upWhich formations make the most sense for the Boys In Gold in 2026?SixOneFive SoccerBen Wright\n\n### Forwards\n\n __Christina Moore-SixOneFive Soccer__\n\nFor the sake of this exercise, we are only focusing on the front two. **Hany Mukhtar** and **Sam Surridge** dominated these two positions in 2025, each playing nearly 4,000 minutes. While they were largely impressive, it's unrealistic to expect the same output in minutes or goals while simultaneously competing in both Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup.\n\nNot having suitable replacements was one of the main drivers for the two having the lion's share of minutes. For both positions, **Teal Bunbury** was the only other player for large stretches of the season. Academy product **Adem Sipić** was unable to break into the first team, and **Tyler Boyd** was mostly a non-factor after returning from injury. Realistically, this left Nashville with two starters and one rotation player for the whole season.\n\n__Data and graphics provided by__ __Sofascore__\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Analysis: Breaking down Nashville SC's depth",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-06T15:00:21.000Z"
}