Fighting the Fire | Materials of the Match: Chicago Fire FC at Charlotte FC

Charlotte FC returns home to face Chicago Fire FC, riding an eight-match unbeaten streak.

Kickoff from Bank of America Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, and fans can watch the match on Apple TV.

Let’s look at the Materials of the Match presented by Rubbermaid to see how Charlotte FC can come out on top in a battle between Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls.

Last Time Out

Charlotte FC beat D.C. United 2-1 on September 19 in Washington, D.C., Dean Smith’s 50th win for the Club in all competitions.

Charlotte scored first on captain Ashley Westwood’s third goal of the season. A pass from Allan Saint-Maximin bounced out of the box and Westwood ran onto the ball and powered it past the keeper to take a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.

United equalized in the 47th minute thanks to a header, but Maxi’s first goal for Charlotte FC denied D.C. any chance of a draw. Westwood sent a pass to Maxi on the left side of the box. Maxi dribbled past his man and his shot beat the keeper, giving Charlotte FC the lead in the 71st minute.

Eastern Conference Collision

Charlotte FC and Chicago Fire FC are separated from one another in the standings by just four points. While The Crown has played 26 matches, Chicago has played just 25, giving them a game in hand. This makes the match that much more important, so Charlotte FC can potentially have a seven-point gap between them and fifth place.

Chicago Fire FC is also the last team in MLS play to beat Charlotte before their eight-match unbeaten streak. Chicago beat Charlotte 2-1 in the reverse fixture at Soldier Field on August 1. Pep Biel scored the opener in the 18th minute to give The Crown the lead, but Robert Lewandowski scored two minutes later before scoring his brace to win the match in the 68th minute.

“I think it's a six-point game for us,” Archie Goodwin said. “They're right behind us on the table and it can really push us up at the rate we're going if we keep winning. We can possibly even finish second and possibly even first if Nashville fall off. We're just working hard at training every week, trusting the processes that we put in place and pushing as hard as we can to win every week.”

A Cup of Tea and More

Charlotte FC’s captain Ashley Westwood has had a career-best year with the Club, scoring three goals and tallying nine assists. He had his first match this season with both a goal and an assist against D.C. United, showcasing his ability at 36 years young.

Westwood notched the two-goal contribution match after coming off a two-match suspension due to going over the yellow card accumulation limit and picking up a red card against Houston Dynamo on September 5. Westwood has missed just one match outside of the suspension this season, starting 22 of 23 matches he has appeared in.

“We know that the quality is there,” Smith said. “He’s 36 years young, not 36 years old, enjoying his football and is a breath of fresh air in the dressing room with the boys.”

International Break Battle

The match between Charlotte and Chicago comes just five days after the start of the international break from September 21 to October 6, meaning both teams will be missing players due to international call-ups.

Charlotte FC will be without Liel Abada and Idan Toklomati (Israel) and Rodolfo Aloko (Benin) against Chicago.

Abada and Toklomati have been a big part of The Crown’s unbeaten streak, with both scoring four goals. Aloko has been a good forward depth piece for The Crown, appearing in 16 matches and starting in five of those. Aloko most recently came on for Abada in the match against D.C. United and has recorded a goal and two assists in his first season for Charlotte FC.

Smith will have to go to the bench to replace his three missing attackers, including two of them being starters. One player he can lean on to start at striker is Goodwin, who has done so as recently as September 9 against CF Montréal. Goodwin has scored three goals this season, including a brace in 15 minutes against the New York Red Bulls on March 21.

“I think I've been waiting for my opportunity for a fair bit this year and obviously got it against Montreal, but then went off with the injury early,” Goodwin said. “So (Idan Toklomati), him going away for international duty, big ups to him, but it's now my job to step in and really make the most of the opportunity and work hard.”

Chicago Fire will be without Anzor Mekvabishvili (Georgia), Chris Brady (United States), Puso Dithejane (South Africa), Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and Robin Lod (Finland).

Mekvabishvili has appeared in just one match with the Fire after signing with Chicago on September 1 from Romanian club Universitatea Craiova. Brady has started every match in net for Chicago Fire FC, keeping six clean sheets and conceding 1.52 goals per match. Dithejane joined Chicago in January and played in 19 matches, starting four while recording two goals and an assist.

Lewandowski joined the Fire in July after a long European career playing for teams like Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona. He’s transferred his scoring skills to the MLS, scoring six goals and adding two assists in 11 matches. Lod came to Chicago in December 2025 after spending 2018-2025 with Minnesota United FC. He has succeeded following the move, ranking fifth on the team in goals (4) and fourth in assists (5) in 24 matches played.

Fighting the Fire

With Chicago’s international absences, they’ll be down key players but they still have playmakers who are ready to step up.

One such player is Maren Haile-Selassie, who is having a career-best season with the Fire. Haile-Selassie has recorded eight goals and eight assists, leading the team in goals and is second in assists. He has notched five goals in the last six matches, leading the team in that span.

Philip Zickernagel is the only player who has outpaced Haile-Selassie in assists for Chicago, recording 10. Zickernagel has also been able to find the back of the net with five goals, the third-best total on the team.

Chicago has had trouble winning games heading into the international break, going 0-2-4 in their last six matches. Chicago were among the top teams in the Eastern Conference before August 22, but securing four of 18 possible points in the last six matches has dropped them down the table.

With both sides seeing depleted squads due to an ill-timed international break, Charlotte FC will need to use its good form as of late and continue bringing bad news for a Chicago side that hasn’t found the win column in a month.

“I think last year I called it squeaky bum time and that’s what this period becomes because the ones who are in the top four at the moment and, that includes us, we want to maintain that,” Smith said. “We've got to go out and continue to perform and win football games, but you've got a lot of jostling below you that are trying to overtake people and so it's a big time for everybody these last 8 games. There's 24 points to play for each team.”

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