Chris Brady, Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Joel Waterman join a who’s who of Fire players to have featured in the world’s most widely followed sporting event
A desperation heave falls into the box, but the ball is cleared as the referee blows his whistle. With six massive saves, Chris Brady’s arms go up in the air first as he celebrates his sixth clean sheet of the season. As he looks to his left, he embraces the player nearest to him – Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who put in a Team of the Matchday performance against one of the best forwards in MLS in Prince Owusu. A few feet away, Joel Waterman collapses after giving everything in an impromptu start in the midfield.
Chicago’s 2-0 victory in Montréal on May 16 was emblematic of the trio of Fire players who will be taking the grandest stage of all come June. From Brady’s acrobatic saves, to the violent yet precise tackles of Mbokazi and Waterman's tenacious play on the defensive half, Chicago will take center stage once more in a World Cup, a tournament that has seen some of the brightest stars in Club history take the pitch for their nations.
In the Beginning
The newly established Chicago Fire made a splash on Jan. 27, 1998, trading its first two picks in the expansion draft to the LA Galaxy for midfielder Chris Armas and Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos. The trade was a landmark one in Club history, giving Chicago an eventual National Soccer Hall of Fame and Ring of Fire player in Armas and a world-renowned player in Campos. The latter set a milestone for Chicago, becoming the first active Fire player to make a World Cup roster in Club history.
In the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France, Mexico was drawn in a tough Group E alongside the Netherlands, Belgium and Korea Republic. But Campos and El Tri held their own, advancing to the knockout stage with a win against Korea and two draws against the group favorites playing in European soil. Campos started all three group stage matches, becoming the first Fire player to start and play in a World Cup, before the doing the same in the Round of 16, where the dream came to an end against Germany in a 2-1 defeat in Montpellier.
For Club and Country
One year after France lifted the World Cup in home soil, a young American squad made waves halfway across the world.
After a first-of-its kind residency program held in Bradenton, Fla., the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team took the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in New Zealand by storm. Along with the United States’ eventual all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan, a young winger named DaMarcus Beasley would turn heads with his dazzling play and knack for causing opposing defenses problems. His performance caught the eye of the Fire, who traded a 2001 MLS Super Draft first round pick to the Galaxy to acquire him on Feb. 6, 2000.
Beasley joined another young star on the Fire that season – forward Josh Wolff, who previously set the rookie record for scoring in 1998 with eight goals for the MLS Cup champions. Together, the pair would lead headline a Fire squad that captured the 2000 U.S. Open Cup and reached the 2000 MLS Cup final. Their stellar play kept them in the national team pool, until the call came from head coach Bruce Arena: a spot on the United States roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. The pair thus became the first active Fire players to be called up to the USMNT, though the achievements would not end there.
Drawn into a highly competitive Group F alongside hosts Korea Republic and a complicated Poland, the U.S. opened the tournament with a massive upset, defeating group favorites Portugal 3-2. Beasley started that match and the following tie against the hosts, becoming the first Fire player to start and play for the USMNT in a World Cup. Wolff also appeared in the group stage before starting the biggest match in American history to that point: a Round of 16 match against Mexico. He played 58 minutes in the 2-0 victory over their rivals, helping the U.S. advance to a quarterfinal match against Germany.
Current Fire head coach and then-defender Gregg Berhalter nearly shocked the world with a shot on frame headed for goal that glanced off the hand of a German defender. But the referee’s whistle went quiet, and Germany ended the Fire players' World Cup run for a secong straight edition.
The X Factor
Despite a multitude of stars that have featured for the Fire over the ensuing years – from their first Designated Player in Cuauhtémoc Blanco to World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger – it would take 20 years for the Men in Red to see another player named to a World Cup roster. But the call-up would be no surprise to the world.
In February 2022, the Fire made global headlines, signing Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri to a Designated Player contract. The midfielder was no stranger to the global stage, dazzling audiences with goals in both the 2014 and 2018 editions of the World Cup and the goal of the tournament at the 2016 UEFA European Championships. His play with the Fire and standing within the Swiss national earned him a call-up to his fourth World Cup in Qatar in 2022, where he tallied in a 3-2 victory over Serbia in the group stage – the first goal for a Fire player in the competition.
The World’s Game
With the biggest World Cup in history, featuring 48 teams across three countries, the Fire will see the largest number of players called up to a single tournament in Club history, including two playing for host nations.
Goalkeeper Chris Brady becomes the third active Fire player and first goalkeeper named to a USMNT roster. The Naperville native is also the first Homegrown and Academy player to be named to a World Cup roster, though he is not the only one in the 2026 edition, as former teammate Brian Gutiérrez was recently called up by Mexico to don the green, white and red in home soil.
The second current Fire player to represent his nation at home will be defender Joel Waterman, who joins Canada’s roster for a second straight World Cup. He is the first Fire player to represent Canada in the competition, joining Mbekezeli Mbokazi as the first defenders to earn a call-up as Men in Red.
Mbokazi, however, may have the biggest spotlight of the three at the start of the tournament. The center back has been a consistent starter for South Africa throughout qualifying and is profiled to start in the third World Cup opening match to be played at the legendary Estadio Azteca (named Mexico City Stadium for the duration of the tournament) against the hosts. That would make him the first Fire player to start and appear in a World Cup opening match – a unique honor for the defender after watching the same matchup in the 2010 opener in his home country of South Africa.
Regardless of the marks broken by the trio during the duration of the tournament, spectators can be assured of one thing: that Chicago spirit and tenacity on display in Montréal will make its way onto the pitch in front of billions across the globe.