CHICAGO, Ill. — The Chicago Fire are going into the World Cup break on a high after securing their third straight win in May. This time, they defeated Toronto FC 2-1 at Soldier Field in front of 26,752 fans.
After injury and suspension forced Gregg Berhalter’s hand in the middle of the park last week – starting a two-man midfield of Mauricio Pineda and Joel Waterman – there was some normalcy restored in the XI against Toronto. Anton Salétros returned from his injury, taking Waterman’s spot in the 4-4-2, while Djé D’Avilla stayed on the bench behind Pineda.
Toronto continued dealing with a plethora of absences, chief among them Djordje Mihailovic, who remains out for an extended period entering the World Cup break. Record signing Josh Sargent, however, was back in the XI after some time on the treatment table, and he would prove to be one of the central figures on the night.
The 29-time U.S. international Sargent had the first big chance of the game. From close distance, his shot was too close to Chris Brady, who himself is set to receive a USMNT World Cup call-up when the roster is announced on Tuesday.
Like in each of the last two wins, the Fire deprioritized playing through the middle from pretty much the opening whistle. This meant that a depleted and technically inferior Toronto team got an early foothold in the match, though it did not last long.
Strikingly similar to against Montréal last Saturday, the Fire found the opening goal through the wide areas. This time, Mbekezeli Mbokazi played through Hugo Cuypers, and after combining with Maren Haile-Selassie, the ball ended up at the feet of a wide-open Robin Lod in front of the goal. The Finn scored again, notching his third goal of the season.
Though the Fire seemed in control after taking the lead, Robin Fraser’s Toronto slowly built their way back into the game. Brady added two more first half saves, but eventually, Sargent did find the breakthrough to equalize. The 26-year-old Missouri native blasted a shot past Brady to tie things up.
The second half started slowly, and the Fire made two changes at the hour mark to inject some fresh energy. D’Avilla returned, while Mbokazi was withdrawn for Waterman. Shortly after the swaps, the Fire had their breakthrough with Philip Zinckernagel finding Andrew Gutman in the air. The left back knocked in a flying header to restore the lead.
The final stages wound down without much activity. Waterman did well, making one clearance when the ball snuck in behind, but admittedly there was not much danger. In a newsworthy note, Hugo Cuypers’ 10-game scoring streak came to an end, as the Belgian, who leads the MLS Golden Boot race, was unable to find the net for the first time this season.
The win, combined with New England’s loss to Charlotte, bumps the Fire up to 3rd in the East. They trail just Nashville and Miami heading into the break.
