Note: Apologies for the late entry. Storm-related flooding at my mother-in-law’s house has taken me away from being able to do, well, pretty much anything not related to that.
Three Mexican opponents, three wins. The Fire top the MLS side of the table in the Leagues Cup group stage, and they finish it with a flourish, besting a very tough Cruz Azul side that had everything to play for going into the match.
The Fire can win big games
The 2025 edition of the Chicago Fire’s story was this: The team played a fun-to-watch soccer, could score almost at will, conceded goals too easily on the other side of the pitch, and therefore struggled to get results against high-end opponents. The Fire scored more goals than anyone but Inter Miami, but also let in the most goals out of any team in the postseason. As a result, the Fire beat up on Orlando in the wildcard game but their season ended as soon as they encountered the Philadelphia Union.
In 2026, the story is different: The team’s scoring edge has been blunted a bit – now they’re ninth in the league – but the squad is massively improved defensively, conceding the sixth fewest-goals in MLS. They’re one of just five teams in the top 10 in both categories, along with Nashville, Vancouver, LAFC, and San Jose – except for maybe swapping San Jose for Inter Miami (Messi), that’s more or less the list of MLS Cup favorites.
The question has been whether the Fire could join that group on the list of teams, all of whom (again, save San Jose, who are in a boat much like the Fire’s) have won or played in championship games in recent seasons.
This game is as close of a test as the Fire have come: Cruz Azul, the reigning Liga MX champions, are arguably the toughest opponent the Fire have faced this year, and both teams needed a result in the game to make it to the next round of a knockout competition.
In the end, the Fire walked away with three points and forced Cruz Azul out of the tournament.
The team hasn’t won anything yet, but now they can face Rayados, or any other team in the region, knowing that they’ve been tested against some of the continent’s best in a knockout situation and prevailed.
The Fire’s improved defense wasn’t all about Mbokazi
If you asked about what turned around the Fire’s defensive fortunes in 2026, the first thing you’d often hear would have been Mbokazi’s name. Often, that’s the only thing you’d hear. When he was injured, fans were openly asking how the season could be “salvaged.”
Here’s the thing: Mbokazi has been a very good center back, and his ability to cover ground is something the team will have to compensate for now that he’s out for the year, but he wasn't the only reason that the Fire’s fortunes have turned around.
In fact, in most cases, he wasn’t the primary reason. Improved shape and structure on the pitch has been a real driver of the team’s improvement throughout the year. When the team switched to a 4-4-2, preparing for a future with Lewandowski and Hugo Cuypers that never came, essentially removing a midfielder for a second striker, that structure stopped working as well, and the defense suffered.
Yes, ahead of the World Cup break, the team managed three wins with the 4-4-2 against some very pedestrian opposition, but it never looked convincing, either then or in the losses that bookended that three game winning-streak on either end.
Switching back to a 4-3-3 (starting with a 4-2-3-1-ish variation against Charlotte), the defense improved, and the Fire made it through three games against Liga MX opponents conceding just two goals while scoring seven.
In other words, the “always has been” Ohio meme? For the Fire’s improved form in 2026, a lot of that comes down to the Fire’s midfield.
Switching back to a 4-3-3 has returned Dje D’Avilla to the job he’s best at, and it’s finally made what Anton Salétros has been doing very well all year shine through, while also reminding us of what Sergio Oregel Jr. can do as well.
The Fire would be better with Mbokazi as an option. But with Elliott and Waterman at center back, and Salétros anchoring the midfield, the Fire will do more than fine.
The secret is out: Puso Dithejane can ball
Longtime (well, since May) readers know we’ve been on the Puso Dithejane hype train for a while now.
As the team’s second-most-heralded South African signing, Dithejane flew a bit under the radar (Mbekezeli Mbokazi, meanwhile, flew in like a giant bomber formation at altitude thanks to his giant social media interest and highlight reel defensive plays). It also hasn’t helped that he plays in positions where the team has plenty of established players on the depth chart.
Scoring both of the goals in the Fire’s most important game so far in 2026, Dithejane’s name is gaining notoriety around the league for his speed-backed offensive flair (even if some of that notoriety might be hampered by the fact that no two commentators seem to have been able to pronounce his name the same way).
We’ve known it. But now everyone else does too.
As teams get more tape on Dithejane’s movements – and now that everyone knows how dangerous he can be – they’ll adjust. That raises the level of difficulty, but will in turn create more space and opportunity for others. And speaking of that…
Lewy’s on board
When a new star Designated Player comes into the league, there’s often an open question about their motivation and mindset. Some come here to work, and have successful years playing at a high level, elevating the standards at their team and throughout the league as a result.
There’s a lot of fair criticisms that can be leveled at Inter Miami, but it’s indisputable that Lionel Messi has both performed and raised the level of the squad around him.
Others don’t do that, instead, coming to collect a paycheck while often being dismissive – or openly derisive of – their teammates, being selfish in all the wrong moments while seeming like they can’t be bothered to care the rest of the time.
Gonzalo Higuain, one of Inter Miami’s first designated players, said that before entering the league, he thought he could play “with a cigarette” in his mouth before finding out that the league wouldn’t be that simple. That might have been hyperbole, but other DPs that entered the league from Italy came a lot closer to literally trying that than you’d imagine.
Both the best, hardest-working DPs that come here to win and the ones who are very visibility not doing that all say and sound the same in introductory press conferences, hitting all the right notes about their ambitions and the new team that they’ve joined.
In other words, amongst some quarters of the fanbase, there’s been an understandable amount of doubt around Robert Lewandowski, not because of who he is, not because of anything that he’s said or done, but because they’ve seen enough dream-turned-to-nightmare examples to have a healthy dose of skepticism.
Some of that skepticism went away with Lewandowski’s first goals with the Fire. A lot more of it should have dissipated after the Fire’s win against Santos Laguna, where the 37-year-old stayed on the pitch for the full 90 minutes plus a lengthy second-half stoppage.
Even more should be gone after his reaction to Dithejane’s first goal against Cruz Azul. With the ball loose in Cruz Azul’s box creating a clear opportunity to score, both Lewandowski and Ditjhejane closed in on it. Dithejane got there first.
And there is no faking Lewandowski’s reaction immediately as soon as the ball hit the back of the net.
He's not just here. He's here. And regardless of whether you think he's an improvement on what Cuypers was already bringing, having him dedicated to his job is undeniably a good thing.
