With eight matches remaining in the 2024 Regular Season, the Chicago Fire find themselves two points out of a playoff position. As the games pass by, the matches that remain grow in importance.
Saturday represents a chance for the Fire to showcase themselves in front of a jam-packed Soldier Field full of lifelong supporters, and those who plan to leave as such.
At its root, Saturday isn’t a concert, nor is it just another stop in Miami’s world tour.
For Head Coach Frank Klopas and his side, it’s a football match.
A 90-minute contest between former Champions League winners and young Chicago natives who look to forge their own path. One of the League’s fastest-growing clubs, against one of the most historic.
It’s Chicago Fire FC against Inter Miami CF at Soldier Field, and this is everything you should know ahead of the match.
Every game counts
During the weekly media availability on Wednesday afternoon, Klopas stayed true to his demeanor, emphasizing the importance of every match as the team fights for playoff position.
“The games really mean something now, but it's in our hands.” said Klopas. “This is a big game, obviously, but the next three games are home for us. So, it's a huge opportunity against really good teams that we've played well, now [we have] to play well consistently.”
The Fire have eight matches left in the 2024 campaign. Five of the final eight come against opponents near Chicago in the table, making each point much more important.
Fighting for points is nothing new for Chicago this season.
On six occasions this season, the Fire have been able to earn points despite trailing in the contest. In those six matches, the Fire have won three and drawn in the others. That’s 12 points the Fire have had to fight for, and with the playoff race heating up, those points become even more important as the year goes along.
Klopas recognizes the mentality of his side.
“I think the mentality of the team has been one for me that has never, ever given up,” Klopas said. “Even through our ups and downs, I think we've dealt, like most teams, with injuries throughout the season. Maybe us a little bit more than other teams, but now we're healthy, and we have a golden opportunity in front of us to finish really strong.”
“There's a lot on the line for the players, for all of us.” Klopas finished.
Live for the moment
One of goalkeeper Chris Brady’s most impressive qualities is his ability to lock into matches, no matter how big the stage may seem.
While the match does serve as an opportunity to play against some of football’s most highly-respected players, the task at hand remains three points and defending home field.
Brady knows this, and he welcomes the challenge.
“No matter who they put on the field, we're studying them,” said Brady. “We know what to expect, and we'll have a game plan put in place. We definitely have been treating it like a regular game, preparing for it like a regular game.”
Currently with the sixth-most saves by any goalkeeper in MLS this season, Brady is no stranger to homing in on his craft. Already just the fourth goalkeeper in Fire history to appear in over 50 matches, the young Homegrown is only getting better.
On a more human level, Brady does allow himself a chance to acknowledge the impressive nature of what he does and who he does it for – even if it isn’t right away.
“It's crazy to think, but it's not something I commonly do in the moment to reinforce that feeling [of playing for the Fire],” Brady said. “But that is definitely the reaction I get from myself, saying to myself, like ‘Wow, that did take a lot of hard work to put myself in a situation where I'm playing against teams like this, I'm playing against players like this.’”
“Yeah, I like that question, but no, it's something that sets in a little after the season.” Brady finished with a smile.
Chicago’s one-two punch
Hugo Cuypers and Brian Gutiérrez.
If the Fire want to inch closer to the postseason, these two will have to be a big reason why they do it.
As it stands, Cuypers sits alone at the top of the Fire’s golden boot race with 10 goals in his first season in Chicago. The Belgian striker has accounted for nearly a third of the Fire’s goals this season, making him one of the most vital pieces of the puzzle for Chicago this season.
On the other hand, you have a rising talent in Gutiérrez, who came into this season hoping to develop his goal-scoring prowess.
That he has, tripling his single-season career-high with six goals, which leaves him with the second-most on the team. We always knew Gutiérrez could create, but it’s his ability to finish that’s given the Club and its’ supporters a new sense of optimism.
There could be history to witness at Soldier Field, and it has nothing to do with the team sporting pink. Should Gutiérrez score another, it’d be his 11th with his boyhood Club, and the most by a Homegrown in Chicago Fire history.
So be there.
It’s your Chicago Fire vs. Inter Miami CF on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CT at historic Soldier Field.
Make sure you get your tickets here to come and support the Men in Red as they look to secure three very important points during the stretch run of the 2024 MLS campaign. And don’t forget to stick around after the match for R&B star Jason Derulo’s 60-minute performance!