Match Information
Chicago Fire FC (2nd, MLS Eastern Conference) at Detroit City FC (3rd, USL Championship)
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
6:30 p.m. CT
Keyworth Stadium – Hamtramck, Mich.
Match Preview
Chicago looks to extend a three-game MLS regular season win streak into the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 when the team travels to the Mitten to face off against Detroit City FC.
It is the second straight year that Chicago will face Detroit City FC in the Round of 32 of the Open Cup, following a 4-0 Chicago win in the 2025 edition of the historic tournament. Detroit advanced to the Round of 32 in 2026 with a 1-0 win against the Flint City Bucks. As he was last year, forward Darren Smith is the player to watch, leading the USL Championship in goals with five. His last one was a game-winner in a 1-0 defeat of Sporting Club Jacksonville on April 11, improving the team to 3-1-1 in league play this season.
The Fire’s first match in the nation's oldest soccer tournament follows a 1-0 win against Atlanta United on Saturday night at Soldier Field as winger Maren Haile-Selassie scored his first goal of the season and goalkeeper Chris Brady recorded a second straight shutout. The victory propelled the Fire to second place in the Eastern Conference standings and marked the fourth clean sheet of the season for Brady, and his 21st in Major League Soccer regular season play.
Game Information
Chicago Fire FC (2nd, MLS Eastern) at Detroit City FC (3rd, USL Championship)
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Keyworth Stadium – Hamtramck, Mich.
All-Time Record vs. DET: (1-0-0)
Last Match vs. DET: May 7, 2025 (4-0 W) – SeatGeek Stadium – Chicago (Match Recap)
Match Notes
- Chicago's victory against Atlanta propelled the Fire to second place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Nashville SC. The Fire are also second in the conference behind Nashville with five goals allowed. The Men in Red have allowed five goals or fewer in the opening seven matches just three other times since 1998.
- After recording his 21st career regular season clean sheet in the win against Atlanta, goalkeeper Chris Brady will look for win and clean sheet number two against Detroit City FC. In their only matchup, the Homegrown goalkeeper recorded two saves in a 4-0 victory against Le Rouge.
- Maren Haile-Selassie opened his season account with his game-winning goal on Saturday against Atlanta United FC. He will carry his hot form into Tuesday looking for his second goal against Detroit City FC, against whom he scored the final tally in the victory in 2025.
- Tuesday's match will mark the 26th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup that Chicago has played in. Among MLS teams, no team has more trophies and wins than the Fire, tied with Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City with four Open Cups.
- The Fire are one of only MLS two teams to win the Double, or both the Open Cup and MLS Cup on the same year. Unlike the 2005 LA Galaxy – the only other league side to do it – the Men in Red won the Double in their very first season as an expansion side (1998). Along with the 2014 Seattle Sounders and the 2016 FC Dallas, the 2003 Chicago Fire also won a Supporters' Shield-Open Cup double.
Lineups
Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI in search of a victory in Michigan:
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