Fire Ignite Playoff Hopes: Chicago Fire Secures Postseason Spot With Victory vs. Inter Miami

WGNTV.com

After a 5-3 victory against Inter Miami on Tuesday at Chase Stadium, the Chicago Fire clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2017.

In recent years, Chicago’s MLS regular seasons have ended in disappointment, rebuilding phases, and limited national coverage of their matches. Securing a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs is bound to bring excitement back to the city, especially as Chicago sports are slowly returning to their winning ways.

Recently, the Chicago Cubs also secured a Wild Card berth—their first in a full season since 2018 and their first overall since the shortened 2020 season.

For the Fire, improvements in recruiting, game management, and consistency over the past few seasons have marked a turning point for the club. Since 2017, the Fire have had five different head coaches, with Frank Klopas serving twice as interim manager (Veljko Paunović, Raphael Wicky, Ezra Hendrickson, Frank Klopas). The arrival of Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has brought much-needed stability, improving the squad’s depth and construction and allowing the Fire to compete with some of the top clubs in MLS.

The 2025 MLS regular season reflects the Fire’s momentum shift. Their victory against Inter Miami set a club record for most road wins in a single season. They have now scored 41 goals on the road—the most in a single season in club history. In the past, road form was virtually nonexistent, but under Berhalter, the Fire have secured their third postseason appearance since 2009.

On the pitch, the team’s success has been driven by MLS All-Star midfielder Philip Zinckernagel, who has recorded 27 goal contributions (14 goals, 13 assists) in his debut season. His efforts rank second all-time in single-season goal contributions for the Fire.

Depth in the midfield has also played a crucial role in breaking defensive lines and creating scoring opportunities. Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez (17 goals, 2 assists) and French native Jonathan Bamba (5 goals, 10 assists) have each made significant contributions, while new signing André Franco has been a standout role player since joining from FC Porto. Franco has been ruled out for the season with a torn ACL injury.

Defensively, the Fire have tightened up with center backs Jack Elliott and Joel Waterman anchoring the backline, along with U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Chris Brady. Brady has tallied six clean sheets and 88 saves this season, and on October 2, he earned his third call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team.

On October 4, Chicago announced that their last game of the season against Toronto FC earned an attendance of 24,653, which was the fifth largest of the season. The total attendance for the 2025 regular season was 398,644 people, the highest total attendance of any season in Club history.

Whether this long-awaited playoff opportunity proves rewarding remains to be seen. But with the recent announcement from owner and chairman Joe Mansueto of a new $650 million stadium set to open in 2028, the timing couldn’t be better. Playoff soccer means more exposure, larger home crowds, and a chance to showcase Chicago’s talent on one of MLS’s biggest stages.