This is it: Tournament soccer with everything to play for. The Chicago Fire take on Cruz Azul in the third and final game of the opening phase of the tournament for both teams.
With both squads on six points, both teams control their path to the quarterfinal. The stakes, however, aren't equal for the two sides: Because of the Swiss format of Phase One, the teams facing each other on the pitch have different tables for advancement.
For both teams, the math is simple: If the game is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, they both advance. The Fire know that their tournament ends if the game is tied after regulation; for Cruz Azul, there are scenarios where advancing with a loss remains possible.
Cruz Azul are the reigning Liga MX champions with a squad that is both talented and deep. That means that on the field, it's a rare chance for the Fire to test themselves against a top regional opponent.
SeatGeek is likely going to be packed for this game, and it's safe to say that, like in the Fire's game against Club América three years ago, the crowd will be heavily in favor of the Liga MX side.
But will it be a hostile crowd? Not according to Fire Head Coach Gregg Berhalter: "To me, the word 'hostile' is an interesting choice of words," he said after the term was put to him in a question on Wednesday. "To me, it's just a loud crowd and an excited crowd, and to me, it's what soccer is about. And I think if you're... a player, what you relish is the opportunity to play in front of crowds that are excited. So for us, you know, hopefully well have a bunch of Chicago Fire fans here. I'm expecting that, but hopefully there's also some Cruz Azul fans there as well, and it's a celebration of the two teams."
Whether the celebration happens before the game or if one of the teams advances after, this is it: A big game with real stakes against a massive opponent. This is what teams play for, and it promises to be a memorable game at SeatGeek.
Cruz Azul
With Cruz Azul sliding just as the playoffs were set to begin last year, management fired the coach and appointed Joel Huiqui to the post on an interim basis.
Huiqui has a long history with the club as a player for most of the 2000s. After his playing career ended, he rejoined the club as a academy coach. After a brief spell with Juárez, he returned in varying coaching capacities with the academy and as an assistant.
In April, Huiqui was named the interim head coach after Cruz Azul dismissed their manager as the team was on a skid as they headed towards the playoffs. He helped the team navigate a successful runt through the liguilla and was named the permanent head coach ahead of the 2026 Apertura.
The team is technical and skilled – two words that have come up in virtually every conversation with Fire players regarding Liga MX opponents, with Philip Zinckernagel saying that the teams that he's seen and faced "have a lot of quality on the ball and have good ideas and are technically strong, but they seem to break a little bit around the 60, 70 minute mark when they look a bit tired compared to the MLS team. So obviously, we can keep the tempo high and pressure them, and use that to our advantage."
Maren Haile-Selassie said that Liga MX teams "are incredibly very gifted, and also technically, very smart," but he noted that while the Fire's opponents from the league have often defended with a back five, "we expect a different system" from Cruz Azul, and for the game to be "a little bit more physical."
On Cruz Azul specifically, Berhalter said that the opponents "do a great job things in the middle with good players," an apparent reference to the midfield led by Érik Lira, but talent is dispersed throughout the squad.
Chicago Fire
The Fire's recent success – with a run of three victories including two in the tournament – has been powered by the team's tactical morph away from a 4-4-2 into a 4-2-3-1 and now, a 4-3-3 as they've worked to find the ways to capitalize on new star striker Robert Lewandowski.
"I think one of the things playing in the 4-3-3," Philip Zinckernagel said on Wednesday, "is that he can come in the middle and drop as a build up player. I think Hugo would stretch the pitch more, and now we have an extra target we can play to, which gives us some more options in build up."
"And then, you know," Zinckernagel added, "he's a goal machine, and the more goals that he can get, the better."
Lewandowski, meanwhile, has also been adapting to playing with the team. On Wednesday, that included exercises working with Djé D'Avilla.
"He's a great person and always trying to teach us something," D'Avilla said. "And today, he was trying to help me with my body shape, and he's played with a lot of great players."
Berhalter said, "I think for [Lewandowski], it's about helping guys with detail. The next step for a lot of these players is the final detail in execution and he has a ton of experience.... he's always willing to impart his experience on the other players."
