Chicago Fire FC will enjoy some time off as FIFA’s March International Window begins this week.
The Men in Red go into the bye week on a high note following a 2-1 road victory against 2025 MLS Cup Playoff opponents Philadelphia Union. Forward Hugo Cuypers scored in a fourth consecutive match, assisted by defender Andrew Gutman in his first appearance of 2026. Winger Jonathan Bamba finished a cross from Robin Lod to tally his second game-winning goal of the year. The victory lifted Chicago up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference and gave Cuypers a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 5.
Following the international break, Chicago will return to the lakefront to take on Nashville SC on Saturday, April 4. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV and transmitted locally on wlsam.com, Uforia by TREBEL app and 106.7 FM HD2.Chicago Fire FC returns from the international break with a match against first-place Nashville SC on April 4 at Soldier Field.
The Fire will kick off a run of five of their next six matches at home with the toughest test of the season. Nashville has started the season with a club record for most points and goals through five matches. In their last match, the Boys in Gold routed Orlando City SC, highlighted by a hat trick from MLS Player of the Month Sam Surridge, who has scored seven goals in four games in 2026. But the sweetest result for Nashville may have come outside of league play, bouncing defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami CF out of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
For Chicago, Saturday will be yet another opportunity for revenge against an opponent that won both regular season meetings in 2025. The Men in Red faced their first such challenge last time out, facing 2025 Supporters' Shield holders Philadelphia Union on March 21. Hugo Cuypers scored the opener – his fourth goal in four games – before the Union tied it near the end of the first half. But Jonathan Bamba finished a Robin Lod cross to take the lead in the second half. The Fire backline held to beat Philadelphia on the road for the first time since 2013.
Kickoff on the lakefront is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV and transmitted locally on wlsam.com (English), and Que Buena Fire on Uforia by TREBEL App (Spanish).
Game Information
Chicago Fire FC (2-2-1, 7 points) vs. Nashville SC (4-0-1, 13 points)
Saturday, April 4, 2026
Soldier Field – Chicago
All-Time MLS Regular Season Record vs. NSH: (1-6-2)
Last Match vs. NSH: June 14, 2025 (0-2 L) – Soldier Field – Chicago (Match Recap)
Last Match at NSH: April 26, 2025 (2-7 L) – GEODIS Park – Nashville, Tenn. (Match Recap)
MAtch Notes
- Forward Hugo Cuypers has opened the 2026 regular season with four goals in four matches and is now chasing a tie for the longest scoring streak in Fire history. Forwards David Accam and Robert Berić are tied with five consecutive games with a goal; Cuypers can join them if he tallies on Saturday. The Belgian striker has scored once in three matches against Nashville.
- Besides Cuypers, wingers Chris Mueller and Philip Zinckernagel have scored against Nashville previously. If one of Cuypers or Zinckernagel scores, he can become the first Fire player to have multiple goals against Nashville in series history; five players have scored only once against the Boys in Gold as members of the Fire.
- After scoring his second game-winning goal of the season in the 2-1 victory against Philadelphia, Jonathan Bamba will look for his third against Nashville on Saturday. The winger only tallied one such goal last season but tied that mark in his first appearance of the season against CF Montréal on Feb. 28. Last year, Cuypers scored six game-winners, the most since Ring of Fire member Ante Razov’s six in 2000, which followed a Fire record seven in 1999.
- Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady is currently away on international duty with the U.S. Men’s National Team. Upon return, he will look for a continuation of his hot form as one of only nine goalkeepers with one goal or fewer allowed per game, and one of 10 with more than one clean sheet. His next shutout would be his 20th in regular season history.
- Both Brady and Maren Haile-Selassie are a handful of appearances away from reaching the century mark with Chicago Fire FC. Brady has appeared in 97 matches – all starts – and is in line for number 98 on Saturday. The versatile Haile-Selassie has appeared in all five contests this year; if he plays his sixth of 2026 against Nashville, he will be five games short of the 100-game mark, one currently held by only 22 players in Fire history.
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