Until the ball is in play in a regular season match, expansion teams are largely mysteries. Speculation about a team’s starting lineup and primary style of play is just that: speculation. Preseason games, by their very nature, are also not a reliable measure of a team’s ability or their coach’s preferred system. That’s why, after a long offseason (and several years leading up to the offseason), it was refreshing to actually see Nashville SC and Inter Miami take the field in Major League Soccer for the very first time this past weekend.



Neither team was handed an easy opening game: Nashville faced off against Atlanta on Saturday night and Miami travelled to Banc of California Stadium to play LAFC on Sunday. Up against two recent expansion teams-turned MLS powerhouses, the league’s 2020 entrants each lost their season openers by one goal. But in the long run, Nashville and Inter Miami’s ability to use a cohesive tactical setup throughout...