MLS’s World Cup showcase is finally over, a mere two-and-a-half months after the World Cup ended. The Fire hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps in a game that was supposed to be one of a handful of games played between the World Cup semis and final, until Canadian wildfires had other ideas.
Facing the top team in the West (we’ll leave the question of “best” aside for the moment), the Fire still walked away with a 3-1 win that, frankly, could have had a lot more goals in it.
Here’s what we learned.
Winning is fun
The Fire put an end to a winless slide in their last game, but that game often felt nervy rather than comfortable: The Fire had a dominant first half but couldn’t find the back of the net, and fans could’ve been forgiven for thinking “well, here we go again.”
In this one, the Fire got ahead in the ninth minute and frankly, it didn’t really feel like they looked back for the entire game.
Vancouver had moments, particularly in the second half, but most of those came after the Fire were already up 2-0, and so it gave a lot of the game, played in perfect weather (albeit on a deeply imperfect pitch) a fun, celebratory feel.
Maren Haile-Selassie’s late goal, his ninth of the season, put the exclamation point at the end of the victory. Now, the team’s monthlong winless slide feels far in the rearview mirror, even if it only ended two games ago.
When asked what changed from the team’s performances during that stretch, Philip Zinckernagel said “I think we just kept pushing. Even though they had a period of 10, 15 minutes in the second half where they were pushing us, we still kept pushing and believing that we could score. And I think we were close many times.”
The attack is clicking
One of the Fire’s three Designated Players were involved in all three of the Fire’s goals: Jonathan Bamba scored his first goal in six months, Zinckernagel scored his first goal since getting a DP deal, and Robert Lewandowski set up Haile-Selassie to put the game away.
Through a lot of headwinds in 2026, Jonathan Bamba has played well – but hasn’t been able to score, and in recent matches, it felt like he was living in his head too much, trying to force plays that weren’t there, taking one (or two, or three) too many touches before shooting. That wasn't the case last night, when he created his own space and took a great shot form distance that gave Vancouver's Yohei Takaoka no chance on the play.
“It’s massive,” Zinckernagel said about the significance of the goal after the game. “The guy has had some tough times and he never complains. He always works hard, personal reasons as well, and I'm just really happy for him. He's a really good guy. He's always smiling. He never complains. Great goal, and I think he looked really strong today. He looked like the old Jo, which is great to see.”
The same could be said about Zinckernagel, who had been on the longest goalless streak he’s in MLS, but it wasn’t just the team’s designated players who performed. Lewandowski may get the credit for passing the ball to Haile-Selassie rather than shooting, but Zinckernagel was complimentary of Johan Gómez, the Fire’s starting striker in this one, saying, “The flick he does for the third goal is beautiful,” while also saying, “I really enjoy playing with him because he does a lot of unselfish stuff. He makes a lot of runs. He's clever. He passes and moves and he's really good on the ball, but he's very unselfish and he does a lot of team effort.”
Haile-Selassie, now the sixth in the Fire’s all-time scoring chart after his two goal contributions last night, said “Almost all of our attacking players got a goal or an assist today. At this time of the year, we need everybody at their peak. It’s great that our attacking players are getting their goals and assists. Our defense was outstanding today as well.”
“Peaking at the right time” is a cliché and it’s not true for the Fire yet, but it feels like they’re getting closer.
Sometimes, you shouldn’t make the sub
This game wasn’t all sunshine and roses for everyone for the entire 90 minutes, however: In the first half, Zinckernagel was clearly having a frustrated game: He felt he had been fouled several times but his pleas to referee Serhii Boiko went unanswered. Then, in the 19th minute, he picked up a yellow himself.
Five minutes later, Zinckernagel missed a PK attempt for the Fire, making the team just 4/8 from the spot this year (he scored one of his three attempts from the spot in 2026). In first half stoppage time, Zinckernagel was again called for a foul and earned a noticeable talking-to from Boiko, very much raising the question about whether or not he was going to get sent off.
It seemed that the smart choice – maybe the only choice – available to Gregg Berhalter if he wanted the Fire to finish with 11 players on the pitch was to take Zinckernagel out at the intermission.
He didn’t, and five minutes after play resumed, Zincernagel rewarded the vote of confidence from his coach with a goal.
After the game, asked about the choice to keep Zinckernagel in for the second half, Berhalter said “With Phil, his track record speaks for itself. He can get goals at any time in the match. That's why, as a coach, you have to be thinking about, ‘Is he still fulfilling his tasks, without the ball and with the ball?’ Because if you leave him on, things like that happen. He's such a creative player, and he's such a good finisher. It's great that he ended up getting the goal, and we got some fresh legs in after that, and to close out the game.”
Rapid Fire Thoughts
- Lewandowski and Puso Dithejane should both get credit for flying back and being available. With Dithejane, even if he had less time back, it may have been less surprising than with Lewandowski. It’s always an open question how engaged a big-name signing will be when they come to MLS. Lewy has settled that one: He cares.
- Virtually every Fire performer had a strong performance – Berhalter, after the third question in a row asking him to comment on a different player’s performance, said “we can do this all night, go through everyone” – but Djé D’Avilla deserves a special shoutout. You’re seeing more and more of the talent level that he’s always possessed, but which was often obscured by mentality or attention lapses through the course of a game. Those issues have become rarer and rarer, and the ability shines through.
- Another one who does: D’Avilla’s midfield partner Anton Salétros, who made a welcome return from injury. He made the pass that set up the Fire’s first goal and was key in punishing the Caps for maintaining a high defensive line. Overall, it’s great that the Fire’s midfielders are clicking in ways that they hadn’t been through the winless stretch.
- One other guy who probably won’t get many plaudits but who did his job: Josh Cohen. Through two matches against some of the stronger opponents in the league, he let in one goal. And yes, that is a goal that he undoubtedly wants back, but overall, you have to feel like the Fire have a more-than-capable backup in the squad.
