The bad news: on Decision Day, the Fire gave the lead away on three separate occasions and eventually lost 4-3 to the Columubs Crew at SeatGeek Stadium. The good news: it didn’t mean anything in the end for the Fire and they finished the Major League Soccer regular season in 4th place in the Eastern Conference and will have home field advantage in their opening round series against Charlotte FC. How worried should we be about the Fire’s wayward form entering the playoffs? Is it enough that Robert Lewandowski is scoring goals again? We recap the run-in, preview the Charlotte series and look around the playoff picture today on CHGO Fire. An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

Three games to go in the regular season! The Fire remain in 4th place after Saturday’s win in Atlanta. Is that where they’ll stay? And who are they likely to face? One possibility is Orlando City, who visit Soldier Field on Wednesday with their electric offense led by Antoine Griezmann and historically porous defense. The Men in Red will hope to build on Saturday’s wild win following defeats against fellow playoff-destined foes Philadelphia and New England. Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski hasn’t scored in 7 matches, the longest stretch of his pro career by minutes between goals. How big a worry is it and how much is on the Polish legend? And, of course, the Fire have more suspension problems to go with lingering injury concerns. Time for the rubber to meet the road on the run-in towards the postseason! An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

0:00 Show start 1:20 Fire have won last three! 17:00 Fire FC vs. Philadelphia Union Preview No team in Major League Soccer has been better since the World Cup than the Philadelphia Union. They’ve won 11 of their 13 matches and surged from dead last in the league up to 6th place in the Eastern Conference and only six points behind the 3rd-place Fire. The Fire, then, have picked a good time to figure some things out as after six straight without a win they’ve had three wins from three over the last couple of weeks including over West-leading Vancouver and personal kryptonite NYCFC. Can the Fire deal young star Cavan Sullivan and his teammates their first loss in months and keep their own winning streak going? Also, Maren Haile-Selassie might be in as good of form as anyone besides Sullivan or Messi and was rewarded with a new contract as the Fire are slowly working their way to having everyone on the roster available… maybe. An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

After winning six straight matches across MLS play and Phase 1 of  Leagues Cup, the Fire are winless in seven including four straight draws followed by losses to New England and Nashville. With the upcoming schedule not getting any easier, is it time to panic? Is this just the team regressing to the mean and we got too excited with earlier good results? Is there any progress being made on organizing the team around Robert Lewandowski? On the bright side, Anzor Mekvabishvili has arrived in Chicago and Andreas Hanche-Olsen shouldn’t be far behind. Less ideal is that Mekvabishvili and Lewandowski along with Chris Brady, Robin Lod and Puso Dithejane will all be unavailable the next two matches while on international duty. Four points from a top-4 place in the Eastern Conference and seven points above the playoff line… which way will the Fire go next? An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

The Fire prepare to entertain Lionel Messi and friends tomorrow night amid a bit of a turbulent time for the squad. Three straight draws, a frenzied end to the transfer window, and unknown futures for a couple of those signings as well as players out injured mean the Fire aren’t at their best ahead of one of the most pivotal remaining matches of the season. We recap that flurry of late summer roster moves, look and what has and hasn’t worked in the string of 1-point results, and look ahead to what might be the GOAT’s final visit to Chicago. Also, injuries and a sudden retirement. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After initially stumbling a bit out of the World Cup break, the Chicago Fire have now won five straight games including being the only MLS team to go perfect in their three matches of Phase 1 in Leagues Cup. As luck would have it, that means a quarterfinal matchup next week against CF Monterrey and old friend Hugo Cuypers. The final hurdle was a win over Cruz Azul in the less than friendly confines of SeatGeek Stadium. Is that Gregg Berhalter’s biggest win as Fire head coach? And after Sunday’s win against Portland, how are we feeling about the Fire ahead of (at least) 9 games in less than 40 days? Alex is joined by Joe Chatz of WLS 890 and On Tap Sports Net for an episode that’s hopefully as fun as it’s been to watch the Fire lately. An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

After two dismal performances out of the World Cup break, the Chicago Fire returned to Soldier Field on Saturday night, where Robert Lewandowski announced himself to the city with two goals to defeat Charlotte FC. What was different about this game, and does it look like the Fire have figured some things out after looking lost in Miami and New York? Also, just when we were getting used to MLS being back, it’s time for another break because of Leagues Cup. Should the Fire care about this tournament? How much does it depend on Thursday’s first game against Necaxa, with Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul to follow? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So much for all the planning and talk of Hugo Cuypers and Robert Lewandowski playing together! Following the arrival of the Polish legend, the MLS Golden Boot leader informed the Fire of his desire to leave the club. Thus, a deal has been agreed in principle with CF Monterrey of Liga MX for a $7.5 million transfer fee. Is that good value? What do the Fire have to do now to improve the team and maximize Lewandowski’s skills? Should they have seen this coming?  Also: Andre Franco and Leonardo Barroso still aren’t healthy, which isn’t great. A VERY busy second half of the season begins Wednesday in Miami, buckle up! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As first reported by The Athletic, Fire striker and MLS Golden boot leader Hugo Cuypers has been sold to CF Monterrey of Liga MX for $7.5 million. Why make this move now? What might the Fire do next? Is this worth the trade off for Lewandowski? We react to the blockbuster move on this CHGO Emergency Podcast presented by Xfinity

The United States Men’s National team won their first knockout match at a World Cup since 2002 last Wednesday when they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 Monday night in Seattle to face Belgium. Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman provided the goals, while Balogun was suspended… until he wasn’t, maybe or maybe not thanks to the White House?? The US will look to avenge their 2014 elimination by Belgium at the same stage and look to repeat the feat of 2022 and reach the Quarterfinals. We’ll also check in on what’s been going on elsewhere in the knockout rounds. It’s a momentous, news-packed and hopefully not the last episode of the CHGO USMNT World Cup Preview Podcast!