After a wait of 112 days, the Chicago Fire are back in action. The start of the Fire’s most promising campaign in recent memory begins in Texas as they take on Houston Dynamo.
At this time a year ago, the Fire had a new head coach in Gregg Berhalter, a significantly reworked roster and hope. By the time their season ended, it has become superlative: The team’s 68 goals were the most in team history, powered by the 15 goals and 15 assists by Philip Zinckernagel – the first double-double of that kind in team history. Their 53 points were the most for the squad since 2017 and their postseason win over Orlando was the first for the team since 2009.
On one hand, none of that matters in 2026: The Fire enter the first matchday of the season on equal terms with each of the 29 other MLS teams, and it’s their performances going forward that will determine how this edition of the squad is remembered.
On the other, the performances last year set a higher benchmark for 2026, and the weight of expectations are now on the squad. “I think it's fine that there are expectations,” Fire Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said, “but it doesn’t change what we want to do. We still have an opponent that is going to be focused on trying to win the game and we have to play well. And we have standards for ourselves.” Those expectations aren’t just external: “This group has high expectations for themselves. You’re in a good spot when you’re aligned with the players on what you’re trying to do.”
A year ago, Philip Zinckernagel was an unknown quantity: A veteran player with experience in a number of European leagues, he had the profile of a player that could perform in MLS, and many assumed that he would be a source of consistent workmanlike, if unspectacular performances. By the end of the season, however, he was anything but: his 15 goals and 15 assists over the course of the season paced the team and marked the first time in team history that any player had reached double digits in both metrics over a single campaign.
Those performances, however, create a new challenge for the Danish attacker: Notoriety. “The teams and other players know me,” Zinckernagel told reporters on Thursday, “which means I have to find other solutions.”
One way of addressing that the Fire trialled in preseason was to shift Zinckernagel’s position, moving him to the middle of the pitch from the wide areas. “I like playing more central and I think you might be right. I have a little bit more freedom and ability to move around the pitch and connect more on both sides, which is something that I like,” Zinckernagel said on Thursday. “That gives him the ability to “move around and find those [open] spaces. Which is something that could sometimes be hard on the right side last year, because of the positioning you have to keep.” Ultimately, the goal is clear: Hopefully I can find some good spots and affect the play even more.”
“Towards the end of last season,” Zinckernagel told reporters on Thursday, “I felt that some of the teams were doubling up on me and making my spaces smaller.”
Fire Depth A Possible Factor
Normally, the last games of the preseason are a time when coaches are trying to get their squads up to 90 minute fitness. “I think, traditionally on opening day, you'll see the group hit a wall and get fatigued around 60, 65th, 70th minute,” Berhalter said ahead of the match. “You start to see the game open up a little bit and that's where we have to be smart. That's where we have to use the whole squad, get players on that are fresh.” Zinckernagel, for one, has confidence that the team can do that, saying “the squad is really solid and we have a bigger and a better squad this year. We have more depth in the squad.”
One position that the Fire have found unexpected depth is at striker, where the team has signed 2025 MLS Next Pro Golden Boot winner Jason Shokalook to a first team deal and where veteran attacker Chris Mueller found surprising success in the preseason.
“There will be situations throughout the season where Hugo [Cuypers] will be injured or someone else, it could be me or anyone,” Zinckernagel said. “And it's great we have these young guys that can – I know Chris is not young – but with Shokalook and Poreba, they have done really well this preseason and they have shown that they're ready to play when the chance comes. And I think that was one of the things I mentioned earlier: the hunger in this group right now to prove themselves. And I don't feel that it's a pressure; I feel it's a hunger and it's from within the whole squad, which is really positive. I mean, Chris had a really good game against Portland, which is, I think that's what you want. You want players in each position knocking on the coach's door and telling him that he, that person is ready to play.”
Still, that depth could be tested on Saturday, with Berhalter confirming that left back Andrew Gutman is out for Saturday’s game. The Fire’s only other natural left back, Viktor Radojević, has yet to feature for the team, including in preseason, after an injury setback. And both attacker Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers, the team’s leading goalscorer in 2025, are game-time decisions.
Matchday Information and How To Watch
Date and Time: Saturday, February 21, 2026, 7:30 PM CT
Location: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Tex.
TV: Apple TV (free)
Radio: wlsam.com (English), Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App (Spanish).
