Analysis: Nashville's Designated Players are setting each other up for success

We're 14 games into Nashville SC's 2026 season, and their Designated Players are flying.

In the offseason, I wrote about how Cristian Espinoza would transform the Nashville SC attack. And he has.

Analysis: Cristian Espinoza makes Nashville SC’s attack lethalBreaking down the biggest free agent signing in MLS this seasonSixOneFive SoccerJeff Remlinger

To be clear, that’s not me taking a victory lap; literally everyone saw that coming except MLS Apple TV studio analyst Bradley Wright-Phillips...

What I got wrong was how it would look. I assumed that three DPs would be too many mouths to feed, and that while they might suffer individual declines in stats, it would make the team better overall. Instead, all three of them are currently producing their highest amount of expected goals per 90 minutes in a season since at least 2023.

BJ Callaghan showed us last year how he can build an attack around his two stars with Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge both playing near an MVP level, and in 2026, he’s found a way to funnel chances to a third star.

Nashville are still Mukhtar-centric

It starts, as it always does, with Hany Mukhtar.

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