The Fire’s preseason wrapped up with a 2-2 draw over Austin on February 11th and heartbreak on Valentine’s Day that saw the team lose to Portland 4-3 off the last kick of the game. The Fire are on their way back to Chicago for preparations ahead of their MLS regular season debut on February 21st, when they travel to Houston to face the Dynamo.

Although sliding into a draw and a loss after a series of victories may not seem like the ideal way to wrap up the Coachella Valley Invitational, but there’s important caveats: Neither of the Fire’s two Designated Players featured in either match, and the Fire played the second half against Austin and the entirety of the game against Portland without a natural center forward, although Chris Mueller put on a strong performance in the position against Portland. Overall, while the Fire played mostly-choice lineups outside of that, Jonathan Bamba, the Fire’s other designated player alongside Hugo Cuypers also did not play in either game and Andrew Gutman was a late scratch.

The matches saw new arrival Puso Dithejane get his first minutes on the pitch in a Fire uniform and good contributions from 17-year-old Vitaliy Hlyut, who looks set to get his first MLS experience this year after making the bench several times last season after signing a professional deal with Chicago Fire II in March.

Here’s what the Fire experienced in their final tuneups ahead of the regular season, in their own words.

After the 2-2 draw against Austin on February 11

Head Coach Gregg Berhalter

on the game’s intensity early on…

“I think I really liked the tempo of the game, especially in the first 25 minutes. I thought both teams were committed to pressing the ball, getting after it, a lot of physicality in the game. And that's exactly what you need in a preseason game. So, they were tough, they put up good resistance. And for us, it was a fine performance.”

…on whether the team has hit their stride

“No, I hope not. And if we are, we're in trouble. We have time to keep building. We want to keep getting better throughout the season. And I think the group has made progress, and the group is committed, and they're working hard, and we want to keep improving.”

…on managing the pressure from Austin

“To me, it was more about what we're trying to do, and playing under real pressure and real speed of the game. And you don't always get that in preseason. It wasn't so warm today. So I think, for us, it was a good commitment from the group. And Austin pressed well and to me, it was a fun, fun game.”

on Chris Mueller making it two games in a row with goal contributions…

“Yeah, I think he's playing well also. It gives us an element both between the lines, dangerous in the penalty box, work rate defensively. So, it's a good position to be in, to have him in the group.”

…on the play of Vitaliy Hlyut and Puso Dithejane

“Vita as a young kid, he's getting into it, getting used to the speed of the game. And then with Puso, I think there's some moments, some good moments, and we want to build on that.”

… on Fire FC owner Joe Mansueto joining the team for the game

“It's great! He interacts with all the players, he’s here supporting the team and brings a great vibe and great mindset to the group.”

Left Back Andrew Gutman

…on the team’s level compared to this time last year

“I think we're pretty good. I think comparatively from last year to this year, we're a lot fitter; guys understand the system a lot better. So, hopefully, we can hit the ground running in the season and get off to a good start.” 

…on the teams focus going into the 2026 season

“I think last year, we mentioned it a lot – changing the mindset of the players and the club – and we were able to do that. Now, we're focusing on climbing up the table and competing in MLS for trophies and everything. This was a good start for us this preseason.” 

… on playing next to Mbekezeli Mbokazi

“Yeah, he's incredible. I got to know him pretty well in Florida, where we were actually roommates. So we kind of started to build that relationship. From the moment he came in, you could see his quality, and I think now he's starting to express himself a little bit more. And you can just see that he's going to be a very, very good player for us.

“I tried to get him into the national championship game with Indiana, but he wasn't having it.”

… on the Fire’s two goals coming off set pieces 

“Yeah, I think it helps us build. It gives us confidence that we can add another dimension to the game. If things aren't going well in the run of play, we can always fall back on good set piece deliveries and execution. So it was good for us.”

…on the Fire's set piece performance leading to the opening goal

“Yeah, that I scored! That was nice. [Set Pieces Coach Ryan Needs] draws up good plays for us and I think the biggest strength we have is that everyone just executes their role. Joel [Waterman] flicked it on knowing that he probably wasn't going to get the goal, but he still did his job. And then I was there to just clean it up for him.”

After the 4-3 loss against Portland on February 14

Fire Head Coach Gregg Berhalter

… on the team’s preseason overall

“I think it's warming up to get ready for the season. I think we need to look at some areas, how to concede less goals. But overall, the guys have worked really hard, and to stretch to 90 minutes today – some guys having to come from the other game and play this game – we're happy with the preseason. We think the guys are in a good way.

…on Portland’s quality as a preseason opponent

“I think that the attacking group that they have is dynamic. I think they're able to create chances, they're very good in the counter attack. And what I saw is, when they got their chances, that they put it on goal, and they're able to make something out of nothing with their opportunities. Especially that third goal.”

…on the team’s performance across two very different halves

“I think that we got opened up on the counter attack a little bit in both halves. I think we could have finished the chances a little bit better. We had a lot of chances in the first half as well. But I think, as we got fatigued, we got a little sloppy, and we opened up some space for Portland.”

...on playing Portland now before meeting them in the regular season in August

“Well, I think by the time we play them, they're going to be a different team. We'll be a different team and we’ll be in regular season form. But, they have great attacking players. So it's a very interesting team, and you know, they took their chances well today.”

…on Andrew Gutman being a late scratch and his status

“Yeah, It's a little bit of a calf [issue]. We'll see how he's doing.”

…on Hlyut coming in to take his place in the starting lineup 

“To ask a kid to play, you know, come in as a sub for 30 minutes and then rest half an hour and play another 60 minutes at this level against Portland's group is difficult, but he did well.”

…on Mbekezli Mbokazi’s play against the Timbers

“Yeah, I mean, he's growing. He's getting used to MLS competition and every game helps him.”

…on Chris Mueller’s preseason performance, including playing out of position in this game

“It's really helpful. It's really helpful to have a guy like that who's come back. We know he's a veteran in the league, we know he's experienced. He's a capable attacking player in this league and it's great to have him firing on all cylinders now.”

Midfielder Robin Lod

…on impressions of the preseason

“The preseason is always a matter of getting the fitness level there so you can start to compete from the first game. So I think it’s good that everybody got a lot of minutes in this camp. 

“Certainly, there were a lot of good things, especially as you mentioned that the offense is creating a lot of chances, which is good. But at the same time, I think we need to take pride to defend our goal, because we can’t win games if we are conceding three or four goals.” 

…on the significance of the loss 

“I mean, it’s a good wake-up call before the season starts. The way we played and how we defend as a unit is not good enough if we want to succeed this year. So, that’s something that we certainly have to step up. At the same time, there's a lot of good things that we have to keep doing.”

…on getting acclimatized with the group, and getting goal contributions

“I mean, it's always good to get good actions to build up the confidence, and at the same time, getting all the guys and how they like to play and start to build up the chemistry with the guys. So, it's been nice and it's a really good group of guys that have welcomed me really well, so it's been a pleasure.” 

Winger (Striker?) Chris Mueller

…on the significance of the preseason and the way it ended

“Yeah, I think all the results so far have been pretty good. it's always good just to come in and get minutes competitively against good opponents – test yourself a little bit, get some more chemistry between the guys. 

“Obviously, you don't want to take a loss going into the season. It's one that stings, but it's also one that we'll learn from and it gives us good lessons as we get into matchweek 1. So. I think overall, it's a positive camp. The guys are feeling good and I think we're confident about where we're at.”

…on playing as a center forward

“You know, I haven't been there since college, I don't think so. It was definitely interesting, but with a free role, a little bit, to come down and still jump on the ball to make some runs in behind. I think it's stuff that I can do. Obviously, I bring a different profile in that sense from Hugo [Cuypers], who's got more of the nose for the goal and is typically at the right spots. I feel like I typically like to drift a little bit and find the ball a little bit more to feet. 

“But yeah, obviously, we can contribute in different ways and I think that just shows that versatility, which is always a good thing as well. So a good challenge for me again. Like I said, just good to be back out there with boys.”

…on playing and scoring this preseason

“Yeah, I think it's just fun because I feel good to be back out there and just doing what I like to do most, which is playing soccer and helping the team, obviously, is always a plus. But I think with a refined perspective, it always helps just to kind of take some liberation from the whole thing and play a little bit more free because I think I took it for granted maybe a little bit in the past, as a lot of us probably do in this position. 

“But, obviously it feels good. I am just grateful to be out there. I am grateful to be back and contributing with the team. Of course, it feels good to get some real minutes on my legs after a whole year without having done so.”