Matchday | Chicago Fire FC Kicks Off Four-Game Road Trip against Orlando City SC

Chicago Fire FC (10-6-2, 32 points) at Orlando City SC (6-10-3, 21 points)
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
6:30 p.m. CT
Inter.co Stadium – Orlando, Fla.

How to Watch: Apple TV
English: Tony Husband, Ross Smith & Jillian Sakovitz
Spanish: Sergio Ruíz & Walter Roque

How to Listen: wlsam.com // TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2
English: Max Anderson & Joe Chatz
Spanish: Omar Ramos & Teresa Limon

Chicago Fire FC kicks off a four-game road trip in league play with a visit to Central Florida for a match against Orlando City SC on Wednesday, August 19.

Coming off a perfect record in Leagues Cup 2026 bookended by two regular season home wins, Chicago enters the week on a five-game winning streak across all competitions. After defeating reigning Liga MX champion Cruz Azul on Thursday night, the Fire returned to MLS play on Sunday to face the Portland Timbers. They continued their hot form almost immediately, taking a 2-0 lead before the quarter-hour mark thanks to goals by Robin Lod and Dje D’Avilla. Although Portland halved the deficit, the Fire held on for the 2-1 victory, the fifth in a row and 100th all-time regular season win at Soldier Field.

Up next for the Fire is a primetime matchup against Orlando City SC, which followed its elimination from Leagues Cup 2026 with an exciting 1-1 draw against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Pavel Bucha put the visiting Orange-and-Blue up one in the 23rd minute. But the Lions roared back within three minutes of the opening whistle in the second half as Tyrese Spicer beat Bucha to the ball before winning a one-on-one with the Cincinnati goalkeeper for the tie. The match was Orlando’s third without a loss out of its last four in the regular season, corresponding with the arrival of World Cup champion Antoine Griezmann to the club.

All-Time Major League Soccer Record vs. ORL: (6-8-8)

Last Game vs. ORL: May 3, 2025 (0-0 D) – Soldier Field – Chicago (Match Recap)
Last Game at ORL: May 31, 2025 (3-1 W) – Inter.co Stadium – Orlando, Fla. (Match Recap)

• Wish Upon a Star: An intriguing slate of midweek matches will be highlighted by star power in Orlando, as Chicago’s Robert Lewandowski faces French midfielder Antoine Griezmann for the first time in Major League Soccer. Who will shine brightest tomorrow night?

• Big Hero 6: The Fire is heating up at the right time amid a five-game winning streak. Can the Men in Red make it six wins in a row across all competitions for the first time since 1998?

• Home on the Range: Orlando has allowed a league-high 48 goals this season; Chicago scored six in its last two matches against Orlando. Will the Fire feel right at home in the Sunshine State in another high-scoring game?

Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI seeking a third straight victory against Orlando across all competitions:

• Tonight’s starting lineup will see five changes from Sunday, when the Fire won their fifth game in a row across all competitions at Soldier Field against the Portland Timbers.

• David Poreba will make his Major League Soccer debut for his hometown team from the start. The Lake Zurich, Ill. native made his first appearance with the first team in a start against Detroit City FC on April 14 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32, but had yet to appear in a regular season match. He is the seventh player to make his MLS debut with the Fire this season.

• Poreba, the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Most Valuable Player, will share the midfield with returning starters Anton Salétros and Djé D’Avilla, the latter of whom was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for his game-winning goal and assist on Sunday.

• Puso Dithejane will replace Philip Zinckernagel (Lower Body) on the right wing from the outset. Tonight will mark his second regular season start and fifth across all competitions this year, including two in three Leagues Cup matches. The South African winger scored both goals in his last start, the 2-1 victory over Cruz Azul last Thursday at SeatGeek Stadium.

• Joining Dithejane in the front line is Jonathan Bamba, who spells Maren Haile-Selassie on the left wing. In his 12th start of the regular season, Bamba will be joined by Robert Lewandowski for the second time, who has three goals across all competitions and will look for a fourth in his last six matches.

• Defender Jonathan Dean will make his 90th regular season appearance with Chicago. The veteran fullback started two of the Fire’s three Leagues Cup matches since his last league start on July 22, scoring the game-winner in the 2-0 shutout against Necaxa on Aug. 6.

• Center back Joel Waterman returns to the starting lineup after taking a seat in the win against Portland. The Canadian international had previously started all but one match since returning from break, all alongside captain Jack Elliott in the heart of the backline. Elliott will make his 50th regular season start with Chicago in only his second year with the Club.

• Lining up alongside Dean, Elliott and Waterman in the defense is Andrew Gutman. The left back joined D’Avilla in the MLS Team of the Matchday for his performance on Sunday, including his sensational assist of Robin Lod’s opening goal in the win against Portland.

• After recording his 10th win of the season on Sunday, goalkeeper Chris Brady is back looking for a second-straight season with at least 11 victories. With another standout performance tonight, Brady would be the first Fire goalkeeper to record multiple wins against Orlando in series history.

• Goalkeeper Josh Cohen; defenders Leonardo Barroso, Sam Rogers and Viktor Radojević; midfielders Mauricio Pineda and Sam Williams; and forwards Maren Haile-Selassie, Robin Lod and Jason Shokalook will be available off the bench in Orlando.

• Beside Zinckernagel, midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr. (Lower Body) and winger Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) are unavailable for selection tonight. Defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Lower Body) and midfielder André Franco (Lower Body) remain on the Injured List and will unavailable for selection for a few weeks.

For instant updates, follow Chicago Fire FC on X (@chicagofire and @VamosFire using hashtags #cf97), Instagram (@chicagofire), TikTok (@chicagofire), Facebook at facebook.com/chicagofire/, Threads (@chicagofire) and Bluesky (@chicagofire.bsky.social).