Chicago Fire FC Opens 2026 MLS Regular Season with 2-1 Road Loss at Houston Dynamo FC
MLS Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire FC Opens 2026 MLS Regular Season with 2-1 Road Loss at Houston Dynamo FC

Published on February 21, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


Chicago Fire FC on game night
Chicago Fire FC on game night
(Chicago Fire FC)

Houston, TX - Chicago Fire FC (0-1-0, 0 points) opened its regular season with a 2-1 loss against Houston Dynamo FC (1-0-0, 3 points) on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium.

Last year's Fire Golden Boot winner Hugo Cuypers opened the scoring for 2026 with a 31st minute strike. Houston newcomer Guillherme scored twice in the second half to give his side the first season opening week in four years.

Following a chippy half hour to open the season, the Belgian striker got on the end of an errant pass in the Houston end before sprinting to the box unmarked. After a defender caught up to him in the box, Cuypers cut away from goal to score a left-footed shot and stun the home crowd.

The hosts went into the break with a 0-1 deficit, but turned it around when Guillherme got on the end of a through pass behind the defense to slip the pass past Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady. The Brazilian midfielder doubled down in the 78th minute, pouncing on a rebound from Brady's diving stop to earn a brace in his debut and the victory for his side.

NEXT MATCH: Chicago will host Eastern Conference rival CF Montréal on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Soldier Field in an afternoon showdown. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV, and transmitted locally on WLS-AM 890 and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia by Trebel app.

Notes:

Four players made their debut for Chicago Fire FC, including three making their first Major League Soccer appearance. Defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi, midfielder Anton Salétros and winger Puso Dithejane featured for the first time in the league, while midfielder Robin Lod made his Fire debut after 158 regular season appearances for Minnesota United FC.

Back-to-back Fire Golden Boot Hugo Cuypers tallied for the first time in a season-opening match. In his first season with Chicago in 2024, the Belgian striker got his first goal four matches into the campaign; last year, he recorded a brace in the team's second match of the season.

Defenders Jack Elliott (Head), Viktor Radojević (Lower Body), Andrew Gutman (Lower Body) and Jonathan Dean (Not Due to Injury); midfielder André Franco (Lower Body); and winger Jonathan Bamba (Lower Body) were not available for selection on Saturday night.

Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook

Box Score:

Houston Dynamo FC 2:1 Chicago Fire FC

Goals:

CHI - Cuypers (1) (WATCH) 31'

HOU - Guillherme (1) (McGlynn 1, Ponce 1) (WATCH) 67'

HOU - Guillherme (2) (WATCH) 78'

Discipline:

HOU - Holmes (Caution) 13'

CHI - Waterman (Caution) 26'

HOU - Halter (Caution 75'

CHI - Mueller (Caution) 84'

HOU - Sviatchenko (Caution)

Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Barroso, D Rogers (Cupps, 76'), D Waterman, D Mbokazi (Dithejane, 88'), D Haile-Selassie, M D'Avilla (Oregel Jr., 88'), M Salétros (capt.), M Lod (Mueller, 76'), M Zinckernagel, F Cuypers

Subs not used: GK Cohen, M Pineda, M Poreba, F Shokalook

Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter

Houston Dynamo FC: GK Bond, D Holmes (Lingr, 79'), D Carlos (capt.), D Sviatchenko, M McGlynn (Samassékou, 87'), M Ennali (Markanich, 90+3'), M Bouzat, F Bogusz, F Ponce, F Guilherme (Negri, 87')

Subs not used: GK Maurer, D Resch, M Herrera, M Arana

Head Coach: Ben Olsen

Stats Summary: HOU / CHI

Shots: 10 / 6

Shots on Goal: 4 / 3

Saves: 2 / 2

Passing Accuracy: 82.2% / 85.0%

Corners: 3 / 5

Fouls: 11 / 20

Offsides: 2 / 0

Possession: 45.6% / 54.4%

Venue: Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, Texas)

Attendance: 20,068

Referee: Filip Dujic

Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Gianni Facchini

Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero Araya

VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.

AVAR: Jeff Muschik

Check out the Chicago Fire FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Images from this story

Chicago Fire FC on game night
Chicago Fire FC on game night
   



Major League Soccer Stories from February 21, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central