For the first time in eight seasons, the Chicago Fire are kicking off an MLS campaign fresh off a playoff qualification. The team’s shortest offseason in ages saw them strengthen across various positions, and they’re now set for another exciting campaign in 2026 under Head Coach Gregg Berhalter.
Here’s MIR97 Media’s annual season preview as the Fire embark on their 29th professional season.
A New Baseline
2025 marked the Fire’s best season in nearly a decade, even if the final position of 8th place doesn’t necessarily seem glamorous. It was a enough to secure a wildcard qualification with two extra games to spare, before going on to win the wildcard in dominant fashion and advance to the first round proper. There, they were swept by the Supporters Shield-winning Philadelphia Union, who were nearly beaten in game one but ran away with game two.
Although the year came to an abrupt end, it was by all means tremendous progress from the seven seasons prior. The Fire notched 53 points, just six points off of 4th place, and arguably finished far lower than their performances would dictate, particularly in the first half of the season. That’s the new baseline; anything prior to last season no longer matters, and Berhalter won’t be judged relative to anything other than progress from 2025. If everything falls into place as it seems like it will, that won’t be a crazily high bar to clear.
Continuity… largely
In early December, the longest Fire transfer saga of the last 12 months finally came to an end when Brian Gutiérrez was unveiled as a Chivas de Guadalajara signing. The 22-year-old homegrown midfielder, who featured over 100 times for the club, was the only key player who left this offseason, and even he wasn’t a locked-in starter for the final third of the campaign. Elsewhere, Kellyn Acosta was bought out to allow a move to Poland, while Rominigue Kouamé returned to his parent club Cádiz.
Aside from that, every other core player is returning to the Fire in 2026. Philip Zinckernagel was the team’s player of the season in 2025, racking up 15 goals and 13 assists in MLS; he overperformed his underlying numbers at a truly remarkable rate, so whether or not he can replicate that in 2026 remains to be seen. Jonathan Bamba, on the other hand, underperformed the numbers his play would dictate, so the conventional wisdom would be that both would regress to the mean. Nonetheless, the two wingers are the Fire’s main starpower heading into the new year and will be central to any success once again.
Between the two, in the Fire’s attacking trident will once again be DP forward Hugo Cuypers, who is returning for his third MLS season. He’s made Chicago his home and has now featured more times for the Fire than any other club in his career. The Belgian’s production surged from 10 goals to 19 from 2024 to 2025, and if he makes more progress this season, he’ll again be in the Golden Boot chase. Chris Brady, between the posts, is returning for his fourth season as the team’s #1 goalkeeper and also continues to develop.
Finally, the team’s centerpiece and most important cog in 2026 will be Djé D’Avilla, arguably the team’s brightest and most talented young star heading into the new year. D’Avilla took some time to adjust to life in America and the playstyle in MLS, but once he got clicking, he quickly emerged as the Fire’s top midfielder. Expected to sit at the base of a three-man midfield or as the deep-lying of a double pivot, the 22-year-old Ivorian will be at the heart of everything for Berhalter and could make headlines around the league if he continues on his current trajectory.
Reinforcements landed
While the spine of the team remains the same, with eight to nine of 11 starters set to return, the Fire did strengthen in several positions, significantly raising their floor. For one, they upgraded their backline by signing a promising, naturally left-footed center back in the shape of Mbekezeli Mbokazi, making headlines across South Africa in the process. The Fire’s signing of the 20-year-old Orlando Pirates star – who’s set to feature for Bafana Bafana at this summer’s World Cup – is viewed as a coup by those in his homeland, and has already shown with his exploits at the international level that he should adapt quickly to life in MLS.
In the midfield, the Fire also landed long-term target Anton Salétros from AIK, who Berhalter has wanted to bring in practically since he took the job. Salétros serves as a direct replacement for the outgoing Kouamé as a left-footed box-to-box midfielder, but brings a level of passing range and set piece prowess that make him a massive upgrade at the position. The club also signed Minnesota United’s Robin Lod in free agency, adding more MLS experience to the midfield while Portuguese star André Franco recovers from a major ACL injury he suffered in September.
Finally, they’ll add more fresh faces in the wide areas, bringing more youthful energy to an already development-focused organization. Puso Dithejane was the second player signed this window from South Africa and will bring more depth and upside to the Fire’s winger department. Viktor Radojević, technically signed in August but not joining team activities until this preseason, will also add backup at left back.
“Berhalter Ball” evolves
For a coach as process-driven as Berhalter, the way that the Fire looked and played in year one of the project was by no means the end-product. Even over the course of 2025, the team grew in complexity, and will do more of the same as they look to take a big step forward in the new year. While the overarching identity will remain similar, expect a style focused more on building from the back and through the midfield than what was utilized last season.
Specifically, there were some things Berhalter evidently wanted to do in 2025 that just weren’t possible yet. It’s clear that a 4-3-3 shape is his preference, but by the final portion of the season it was evident that that would not hold up, and he introduced a 5-2-3 alternative to the team’s arsenal earlier than he had originally hoped. As perhaps best demonstrated during last year’s Decision Day draw with the New England Revolution, the Fire are sought to build directly through the spine of the lineup, starting with the center backs, and it was clear that they didn’t have the personnel to do it yet.
Pragmatic, rather than idealistic, tactical moves were needed to stay alive during the playoff chase, but Berhalter now has the players to better execute what he evidently wanted to last season. Mbokazi – if he plays to his potential – ticks every box you want from a center back with the exception of height. Salétros gives you everything Kouamé lacked and will enable a much more fluid, passing midfield. A healthy Franco in the second half of the season will bring an entirely new dimension in the middle of the park.
At its best, the identity in 2026 will be even more fluid and attractive than it was last season. At least in the first half of the year, expect an ambitious approach, even if more pragmatism will inevitably set in down the stretch. Additionally, expect changes game by game based on the opponent, something that was not very prominent for most of last season.
Where the questions lie
The Fire scored the second-most goals in MLS last season, trailing just Inter Miami… production isn’t a problem. The problem is that they also conceded the fourth most goals in MLS.
Since September, Berhalter has taken steps to fix this. The switch to a back-five formation worked in terms of adding stability, though it came at the cost of some sacrifice in the midfield. The team also signed Mbokazi, though one player won’t solve everything, especially if the Fire continue to play a back four as their primary shape. There were no other major additions defensively, so the coaching staff is banking on a more cohesive and consistent position group in 2026.
No matter how many goals the offense scores, it won’t mean anything if the defense doesn’t meet par again. Winning every game 5-3 is not a feasible recipe for success, so a lot of pressure will rest on Mbokazi, Jack Elliott, and Joel Waterman to perform when called upon. Christopher Cupps and Sam Rogers should also aim to push the other three and make the most of their minutes when they get them.
If the defensive issue can be tightened up – and preseason showed there is still work to do – the Fire have an elite team in MLS if nothing else because they score so many goals. That can only be promising.
Three fronts
The Fire will have three shots at silverware in 2026. In addition to MLS, where they’ll hope to be at the bare minimum a comfortable playoff team in the East, they’ll have two tangible pathways to trophies over the summer.
The first, and probably more likely, is the U.S. Open Cup, the tournament the Fire have sought desperately to win back for the last 20 years. The Men in Red are one triumph away from becoming the first MLS club to win five Open Cups, but have been gut-wrenchingly eliminated at the quarterfinal stage in each of their last two entries. In 2025, it was particularly harsh, as a 10-man Fire team were unceremoniously dumped out after a gruelling, 120-minute battle in Minnesota.
Elsewhere, they’ll have a run at the Leagues Cup for the first time since 2024. The format is different than it was before, and the fact that they’ll only face Liga MX teams does make the prospect of it more challenging, but it’s no secret that Berhalter has an excellent record against Mexican opposition. If they click at the right time, there’s no reason the Fire can’t turn things on to win the tournament for the first time ever.
Where the bar stands
Even if the Fire didn’t reach their full potential for 2025, the season was still clearly a success simply by virtue of them making the playoffs. That’s no longer the bar for success; they have to exceed it.
Heading into 2026, the Fire are a team without a clear weakness in the lineup, and one that, who knows, could strengthen even further in the summer. They also have a clear playing identity and a full season of experience together under Berhalter.
This should be the year that the Fire go from just being a team that’s finally back in the playoffs to one that’s trying to make genuine noise throughout the entire season. That’s the new standard, and anything less will be a shortcoming.
