WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – At long last, Hany Mukhtar made his preseason debut for the Boys in Gold on Friday vs. Toronto FC. Unfortunately, Nashville came up short in the affair by way of a 2-1 defeat to conclude its stint in the Sunshine State with a trip back to Geodis Park awaiting.
The match was a 120-minute affair split into four quarters rather than halves, and Gary Smith’s Starting XI featured only one change from Nashville’s previous outing – Sean Davis back in for Brian Anunga.
Surridge
Shaffelburg | Boyd | Gaines
Davis | Yearwood
Washington | MacNaughton | Maher | Moore
Willis
Toronto’s Italian duo of Lorenzo Insigne and Bernardeschi opened the scoring, each accounting for a goal apiece, before the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player entered the match for his first preseason appearance of the new campaign.
Mukhtar subbed on at halftime and the playmaker instantly altered the trajectory of the match, supplying the assist to incoming rookie Forster Ajago before the end of the third quarter.
Following the defeat, Nashville SC returns home to Geodis Park for its penultimate preseason match where the club will host USL Championship-side Birmingham Legion FC. Nashville enters the match with a picket-fence record through three Spring matches, 1W-1L-1D.
| Player | Goals | Assists |
| Jacob Shaffelburg | 2 | – |
| Tyler Boyd | 1 | 1 |
| McKenzie Gaines | 1 | 1 |
| Forster Ajago | 1 | – |
| Hany Mukhtar | – | 1 |
Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC
