The Chicago Fire’s Chris Brady will be away from the club for a bit longer due to national team duty.
The Fire’s 21-year-old starting goalkeeper was one of the three keepers on head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s United States Men's National Team Gold Cup roster, which was released Thursday morning.
Brady has been training with the USMNT all week ahead of their friendlies against Turkiyë and Switzerland and will now be with his national team through at least their Gold Cup Group stage matches, which conclude on June 22. Should the USMNT advance all the way to the Gold Cup Final, Brady would be with them through July 6 and be out for a total of five MLS matches during the tournament.
Brady told On Tap Sports Net after his initial call-up that he knew he had to make a good impression in his first senior USMNT camp and, after the Colorado Rapids’ Zack Steffen departed camp due to injury, it appears that he accomplished that while training in Chicago.
Since making his MLS debut as a teenager in 2022, Brady has been a fixture in goal for the Fire. He’s made 82 appearances in all competitions and has collected 16 clean sheets in MLS. Jeff Gal*, who has already appeared for the Fire twice this season, is expected to fill in at goalkeeper in Brady’s absence.
Incumbent starting USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner noted Brady’s talent when asked about it during Wednesday’s USMNT press conference.
"He's a hard worker and, yeah, he's got quite a bit of talent on him,” Turner told reporters over Zoom. “It's been nice to get to know him because I think he was the only goalkeeper that I hadn't been in a camp with that was in the 60-man roster anyway.
"He's young and I think he's got a lot of potential, so it will be nice to work with him for a while and, hopefully, I can learn from him and he can learn from me in some ways as well."
Gregg Berhalter
The Fire will once again be down some starters this weekend when they go against D.C. United. Chris Brady, Omari Glasgow, Sergio Oregel Jr. and Christopher Cupps are on international duty while Mauricio Pineda is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. The Fire’s director of football and head coach sees that as another opportunity for those on his team.
“We see that as an opportunity for Jeff [Gal] to come in and play and perform well, like he always has,” Gregg Berhalter said during his weekly media availability. “This week, in particular, we’re missing a number of players through the international call-ups and suspensions. It's just something we have to deal with.
“But we know a lot of teams in the league are in a similar boat, so we'll deal with it. Overall, what I'd say is, the important thing for us, and I say this every single week, it’s about improvement. It's about making progress. It's about continuing to build as we go throughout the year. And if we do that, we'll be in a good position.”
Hugo Cuypers on Fire Stadium News
The Fire’s club-record signing has already equalled his 2024 MLS goal total of ten through 15 MLS matches in 2025. His on-field production in 2025 has matched the hype that came with his signing, and this week’s news about a Fire stadium at The 78. Cuypers spoke glowingly about the announcement.
“It's a confirmation of everything that's been said to me when I signed over a year ago,” Cuypers told reporters Thursday. “So I think that's the first thing that people in this club are true to the word and investment and the fact that they really believe and invest time and money in the club, in the city.
“And it shows ambition. I think that resonates with me and it's part of the reason why I chose Chicago Fire and the facility is a good example. The stadium is a great example of the ambition the club has, and hopefully it helps us.”
Chase Gasper
Chase Gasper made his 2025 competitive debut for Chicago Fire II on June 1 when he played the first half of their 5-0 win over Columbus Crew 2. It was the first appearance for the left back since he played seven minutes for the Fire against New England on March 23, 2024. The 29-year-old defender was emotional after making his first appearance in over a year.
“It's tough to not let the emotions get to you, and so it's just kind of calming yourself down, not letting the moment be too big and just kind of reflecting on everybody that put in all the time and effort with me…
“It's hard not to get even emotional now. I’m just super grateful, super happy to be here.”
Gasper reflected on his time away from getting competitive minutes.
“When you're not playing and you're just watching from the sidelines, it forces you to grow in different aspects of the game. So I just really focused on this past year and two months to try to be just the best teammate I could be. I know the ups and downs of the season, so I was just trying to be like the happy guy for everybody, always positive, trying to keep everyone positive mentality. And so I'm just super thankful to all my teammates for helping me through a tough past year.”
Sam Rogers
Gregg Berhalter noted that Rogers, who has been training all week after missing last week’s match with a back injury, is improving but did not mention whether the center back will be available this weekend vs D.C. United.
International window
The Fire will be without Omari Glasgow (Guyana), Sergio Oregel Jr. (US U20) and Christopher Cupps (US U17) when they go against D.C. United this weekend. Berhalter said that it’s possible that Fire II’s Vitaliy Hlyut or Jason Shokalook, both of whom have trained with the first team all week, are options for short-term agreements against D.C. United.
Fire II
Chicago’s MLS Next Pro side handled the ten-men Columbus Crew 2 5-0 at SeatGeek Stadium on June 1 thanks to goals from Diego Konincks, Justin Reynolds, Trip Fleming, Jean Alpha Diouf, and Jason Shokalook.
Fire II will be back at SeatGeek Stadium on June 8 at 3:00 p.m. when they host New England Revolution II.
Fire II will be without Harold Osorio against New England as he is with El Salvador for World Cup qualifiers.
*More on Gal at On Tap Sports Net on Friday.
At Chicago Fire training
— Joe Chatz (@JoeChatz) June 5, 2025
Carlos Terán worked out individually on the side
Fire II’s Vitaliy Hlyut, Claudio Cassano, Jean Alpha Diouf & Jason Shokalook were with the first team
GKs: Jeff Gal, Bryan Dowd & David Molenda #cf97 #VamosFire pic.twitter.com/FycWbq3WyR
The Fire will be in Washington, D.C. on June 7 to go against D.C. United at Audi Field. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
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