Chicago Fire FC Goalkeeper Chris Brady Called up to the U.S. Men's National Team for FIFA World Cup 2026
MLS Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire FC Goalkeeper Chris Brady Called up to the U.S. Men's National Team for FIFA World Cup 2026

Published on May 26, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


CHICAGO - Chicago Fire FC and U.S. Soccer Federation today announced that Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady has been named to the U.S. Men's National Team roster for FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Naperville native becomes the first Chicago Fire Homegrown Player and Chicago Fire Academy graduate to be named to a FIFA World Cup roster. He is just the fifth player to be named to a World Cup roster as an active player of the Fire, joining Jorge Campos (1998), Josh Wolff and DaMarcus Beasley (2002), and Xherdan Shaqiri (2022). Brady is only the third Fire player to be named to the U.S. Men's National Team roster as an active number of the Fire.

"It's hard to even put into words what this means," said Brady. "It's life changing. I was nervous but I know the hard work I've put into it and that the people around me have helped me put into it, and I'm super excited and thankful."

The USMNT was drawn into Group D with Paraguay, Australia, and Türkiye. Mauricio Pochettino's squad kicks off the group stage against Paraguay at 8 p.m. CT on Friday, June 12, at Los Angeles Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., before taking on Australia at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, June 19, at Seattle Stadium in Seattle, Wash. The U.S. travels back to Los Angeles to close out Group D against Türkiye at 9 p.m. CT on Thursday, June 25.

Brady, 22, signed a first team contract in March 2020, becoming the 19th Homegrown Player in Club history as a 16-year-old. He has has played 10,246 minutes across all competitions for the Fire since earning his first start in a 1-1 draw against the New England Revolution on Oct. 9, 2022. Brady has started all 106 regular season matches in which he has played, registering 346 saves and 26 clean sheets. In total, Brady has appeared in 115 matches across all competitions for the Fire, including the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup and the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Brady joined the USMNT for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, where the team advanced to the final. Prior to being part of the squad for the regional tournament, Brady helped the U.S. qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games at the Concacaf U-20 Championship in July 2022, in which he won the Golden Glove as the tournament's best goalkeeper after keeping four-straight shutouts in the knockout stage, including the Olympic-clinching semifinal against host Honduras.

Before heading to Los Angeles, the USMNT will play two friendly matches as final preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. First, the U.S. will play host to Senegal at 2:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, May 31, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The team will then head to Chicago to take on Germany at 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 6, at Soldier Field.

DETAILED U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (Club)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire FC), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

DEFENDERS (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth/ENG), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER)

FORWARDS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América/MEX)

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Major League Soccer Stories from May 26, 2026


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