4 Things We Learned: Chicago Fire vs. Fortaleza
The Chicago Fire opened their 2025 preseason schedule on Sunday, facing Brazilian Serie A contender Fortaleza in a warm Port St. Lucie. A hodge-podge Fire lineup took the field in the first unofficial match under Head Coach Gregg Berhalter, and despite a narrow 1-0 loss, it was not a poor performance by any means.
Here are four things we learned from today's friendly.
Preseason rust... nothing new
The Fire entered today's game with just five training sessions together under Berhalter. That was evident. The game as a whole never got any sort of rhythm going, and a lineup containing a mix of starters, bench players, and second-teamers didn't help. Player positioning was also not rigid whatsoever, as particularly in the first half, the team's shape was not well organized. New Fire II signing Sam Williams, who played 90 minutes, lined up at left back for the first 45 and was not the only one who was out of position.
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However, there were certainly some positives from a collective standpoint. In the second half, the Fire had more of the ball, even if they could not generate many good chances with it. The second 45's midfield trio of Kellyn Acosta, Mauricio Pineda, and Sam Williams was largely responsible. Defensively, the Fire were mostly solid, with Fortaleza's goal only coming off of a momentary lapse from Justin Reynolds in front of goal.
Hlyut and Cupps impress
The two most exciting young talents invited to preseason camp were the 16-year-old duo of Vitaliy Hlyut and Christopher Cupps, and both made their first-ever appearances for the Fire first team today. Hlyut started the game on the left wing, playing the first 45 minutes, while Cupps played the full second half at left center back and accounted himself very well.
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While this was ultimately a low-stakes game and an awkward stage for debut, both performed to a good standard and did not look out of place. Hlyut demonstrated poise in his involvements, drifting in off of the left side well and combining with his teammates. Cupps also looked mature beyond his years and demonstrated little jitters, remaining solid on defense and making one particularly impressive block midway through the second half. Both will now look to continue to impress in camp and in subsequent friendlies with this unique opportunity to be in front of first team staff for over a week.
Attacking depth may need work
There's only so much you can read into this kind of a game, particularly for forwards, but none of the Fire's first team attackers looked particularly dangerous. It's not entirely their fault, as the match's slow pace did not suit their styles, but it was not a great day at the office for Tom Barlow, Chris Mueller, and Dean Boltz across their minutes. Mueller had plenty of chances, usually cutting in off of the left wing during his second half appearance, but failed to challenge the goalkeeper, while Boltz was mostly anonymous.
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It is worth noting that it is highly unlikely that any of the attacking players who featured against Fortaleza will be in the XI come opening day, and even when they see the field this year, they will probably be surrounded by one or more starters. Hugo Cuypers and Maren Haile-Selassie were not in the squad today, while Philip Zinckernagel still awaits his work permit. Designated Player winger Jonathan Bamba – who was left out of Celta Vigo's matchday squad today – is in the process of finalizing his move to the Fire, and he will also slide right into the starting team. David Poreba, who started as the #10 and filled in as a makeshift right winger for the second 45, was probably the Fire's best attacker alongside Hlyut, but there was only so much he could do when he was out of his best position.
Returning homegrowns look sharp
Three standouts from the game were Chris Brady, Justin Reynolds, and Mauricio Pineda, who all undoubtedly left a positive impression on Berhalter and his staff. Brady was probably the Fire's man of the match, making several first half saves to maintain a shutout in his 45-minute appearance. One in particular – a diving save from a free kick given up by Carlos Terán – was impressive, as he got low to quickly clean up a well-hit shot from distance.
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Despite Reynolds' error on the goal, he was largely impactful on the ball and came close to scoring with a shot late in the second half from outside the penalty area. New U-22 right back signing Leonardo Barroso isn't set to arrive at camp until the first week of February so Reynolds, alongside today's starter Jonathan Dean, both have an opportunity to stake their claim at the position. Pineda, who started in midfield despite being a center back for most of Frank Klopas' tenure, also looked very composed in his 45 minutes today, partnering Kellyn Acosta and Sam Williams well in a 4-3-3 (that look structurally different to the first half's 4-2-3-1).
Lineups and Player Ratings
First half (4-2-3-1): Chris Brady (7.5/10); Sam Williams (6.5), Jack Elliott (7), Carlos Terán (5.5), Jonathan Dean (6); Federico Navarro (5.5), Harold Osorio (6); Vitaliy Hlyut (6.5), David Poreba (6), Omari Glasgow (5.5); Tom Barlow (5)
Second half (4-3-3): Jeff Gal (5); Andrew Gutman (6.5), Chris Cupps (7), Sam Rogers (6), Justin Reynolds (6.5); Mauricio Pineda (7), Sam Williams, Kellyn Acosta (7); Chris Mueller (4.5), Dean Boltz (4), David Poreba
Read more:
https://meninred97.com/offseason-a-work-in-progress-says-berhalter/
https://meninred97.com/brian-gutierrez-prepares-for-surreal-usmnt-debut/
https://meninred97.com/chicago-fire-vs-fortaleza-everything-you-need-to-know/
