Matchday | Chicago Fire FC Closes Out 2026 Regular Season against Columbus Crew

Match Information

Chicago Fire FC (16-10-7, 55 points) vs. Columbus Crew (13-15-5, 44 points)
Decision Day 2026
Saturday, November 7, 2026
3:00 p.m. CT
SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, Ill.

How to Watch: Apple TV
English: Max Bretos & Brian Dunseth
Spanish: Sergio Ruíz & Walter Roque

How to Listen: wlsam.com // TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2

English: Max Anderson & Joe Chatz
Spanish: Omar Ramos & Teresa Limón

Match Preview

Chicago Fire FC will close out the 2026 MLS Regular Season with a Decision Day home match against Columbus Crew on Saturday, Nov. 7 at SeatGeek Stadium. 

Kickoff at SeatGeek Stadium is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT, with the match broadcast globally on Apple TV. It will be transmitted locally on wlsam.com in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 and on the Uforia platform in Spanish. 

With playoff seeding at stake, Chicago visited the Colorado Rapids on Saturday for the first time since 2018. Needing points to clinch a postseason spot, Colorado struck first in the 22nd minute, before Jonathan Bamba equalized with his second goal in as many games. Bamba gave the Fire a brief lead that the Rapids quickly erased, leaving it to bench solutions to decide the match. Entering the match in the 63rd minute, Robert Lewandowski scored his seventh goal of the campaign before setting up Puso Dithejane’s 88th minute strike, sealing the Fire’s seventh win away from home in 2026. 

What looked like an impossible task for Columbus in September became reality on Saturday afternoon. Down in last place in the Eastern Conference with only a dozen games left, the Crew went off to win six of their last seven matches entering a pivotal match against another playoff hopeful in D.C. United. The hot form continued, taking the lead in the 16th minute and adding on to complete a 3-0 shutout of the Black-and-Red. The result eliminated D.C. from contention; combined with other scores around the conference, it was also enough to give the hottest team in the league a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs. 

All-Time MLS Regular Season Record vs. CLB: (28-28-24) 

Last Game vs. CLB: Sept. 27, 2025 (2-0 W) – Soldier Field – Chicago (Match Recap) 
Last Game at CLB: March 7, 2026 (0-0 D) – ScottsMiracle-Gro Field – Columbus, Ohio (Match Recap)

Hyundai Keys to the Match:

• 6 for 7: Maren Haile-Selassie will close out 2026 with at least 12 goals, seven of them at home, including one in each of his last five home games. Can Chicago’s No.7 score for a sixth home game in a row – the longest streak since 2018?

• 10 for 9: André Franco made his long-awaited season debut last week, recovering a ball that sparked a goal in the 4-2 win at Colorado. Can he connect with Robert Lewandowski for at least one goal on Decision Day?

• 50 for 11: Two-time MLS All-Star Philip Zinckernagel got two assists in the win at Colorado, recording 49 goal contributions in his regular season career with Chicago. Can he close out the season with another goal or assist to make it 50?

Match Notes

• Chicago and Columbus will play the 81st regular season match of the longest rivalry in Club history, with each side having a record of 28-28-24 in the series. 

• A victory against Columbus would be the 17th of the season for Chicago, tied for most since the end of the shootout era in 2000. The win would also give the Fire 58 points in 2026, the most in any single campaign in Club history. 

• With two assists in Colorado, Philip Zinckernagel claimed ninth place for most assists (27) and goal contributions (49) all-time in Club history. One more goal or assist would make Zinckernagel the second player in Fire history to record 20 goal contributions in consecutive seasons, with Ante Razov doing it twice from 1999-2000 and 2002-2003. 

• Zinckernagel’s six corner kicks in Colorado also gave him 110 for the season. With five more on Saturday, the Danish winger will break his own single season Club record of 114 set last year.  

• Gregg Berhalter surpassed former Orlando City SC and Minnesota United FC head coach Adrian Heath into 16th place for most regular season victories by a coach in Major League Soccer with the 98th of his career on Saturday. A win against Columbus would be Berhalter’s 17th this year, the most in a single season in his seven-year career in MLS. 

• Defender Sam Rogers (Lower Body) and midfielder Robin Lod (Lower Body) will be unavailable against Columbus. Midfielder Mauricio Pineda (Lower Body) is listed as questionable.

Starting XI

Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI tasked with wrapping up the 2026 regular season with a win:

• Three changes have been made to the side that got a 4-2 win against the Colorado Rapids in the Fire's last road match of the regular season.

• Robert Lewandowski will look for a goal in a second straight match after tallying the game-winner off the bench in Colorado. He will line up alongside Maren Haile-Selassie, who can clinch the team's Golden Boot with a goal in a sixth consecutive home match.

• On the other end, Jonathan Dean and Andreas Hanche-Olsen both start in defense of the Fire goal after starting the Colorado match on the bench. Dean will slide into right back, with Hanche-Olsen and Mbekezeli Mbokazi on his left at center back. Noah Allen completes the back line at left back in his second start in a row.

• After posting his career-high 13th victory of the season in Colorado, Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady will look for No. 14 in his 32nd start for Chicago in 2026.

• Anton Salétros will wear the captain's armband, lining up alongside Dje D'Avilla in the middle of the park.

• Philip Zinckernagel and Jonathan Bamba reprise their roles on the wings of the Fire attack. Bamba struck twice in the win against the Rapids, and will look for his fourth goal in three matches against the Crew today. Zinckernagel had two assists last week, leaving him just one goal contribution short of 50 all-time with the Fire in just two seasons.

• Available off the bench are goalkeeper Josh Cohen; defenders Leonardo Barroso, Jack Elliott and Andrew Gutman; midfielders André Franco, Anzor Mekvabishvili and Sergio Oregel Jr.; and forwards Puso Dithejane and Johan Gómez.

• Defender Sam Rogers (Lower Body) and midfielders Robin Lod (Lower Body) and Mauricio Pineda (Lower Body) are not available for selection against Columbus.

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