Match Recap | Chicago Fire FC Overcomes Cruz Azul 2-1 to Advance to Leagues Cup 2026 Knockout Round

Winger Puso Dithejane scores twice to place Chicago first among Major League Soccer clubs in Leagues Cup standings

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (Aug. 13, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC defeated reigning Liga MX champions Cruz Azul 2-1 on Thursday night at SeatGeek Stadium. The victory was Chicago’s third of three Leagues Cup 2026 matches, sending the Fire into the knockout round of the interleague competition as the top seed among MLS clubs.

A chippy opening 45 minutes gave way to a second half with clear chances for both clubs on a damp Thursday night. In the 67th minute, right back Jonathan Dean threaded a pass to winger Philip Zinckernagel in the box, who then tapped it near the penalty spot. A blue-clad leg deflected the ball to Puso Dithejane, who reeled it in to blast home the opener.

The Liga MX champions quickly sought the equalizer, with midfielder Agustín Palavecino taking a shot from distance seconds after the restart that Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady managed to parry away. The Men in Red nearly took advantage of the push in the 76th, with Robin Lod’s header on goal miraculously pawed away by Cruz Azul goalkeeper Kevin Mier. La Máquina was not down for very long, however, as midfielder Carlos Rodríguez’s pass was knocked into the path of forward Nico Ibáñez, who then went upper 90 for the equalizer in the 81st minute.

With the intensity diminishing on a humid night, the match looked destined for a penalty shootout. Inviting pressure, center back Joel Waterman found an open Dean on the right wing in the third minute of stoppage time. The right back sent a long ball forward to Lod, who held the ball up for Anton Salétros to pass into the path of second half substitute Maren Haile-Selassie in the box. A wide-open Dithejane made a run to the far post, where he tapped home the game-winner in front of a stunned Cruz Azul backline.

NEXT MATCH: Chicago Fire FC returns to MLS league play against the Portland Timbers on Sunday, Aug. 16. Kickoff at Soldier Field is scheduled for 5 p.m. The match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV, and transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM and wlsam.com in English, and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 and Uforia by TREBEL app in Spanish.

Match Notes:

• Chicago Fire FC returned to the quarterfinal round of Leagues Cup for the first time since 2019. The Fire were one of only four MLS sides featured in the inaugural edition, falling to Cruz Azul 2-0 on July 23, 2019 in that round. This marks the first time the Fire advance to the knockout stage since 2023, following a win and a draw in the group stage in that edition.

• Puso Dithejane recorded his first brace and game-winning goal with Chicago across all competitions. The South African winger played all but one minute of the match, leading all players from both clubs in Expected Goals (xG) generated with only three shots on goal.

• In his Club-high eighth Leagues Cup appearance of all time, winger Maren Haile-Selassie recorded the game-winning assist of Dithejane’s second goal. That was his first game-winning assist of the season across all competitions for Chicago, but his second such goal contribution after tallying the lone goal in Chicago’s 1-0 victory over Atlanta United FC on April 11.

• Goalkeeper Chris Brady matched Cruz Azul’s Kevin Mier with four saves on the night, finishing Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One tied for sixth among all netminders with 12 saves.

• Tonight’s victory evened the record between Chicago and Cruz Azul in Leagues Cup play. La Máquina won their first matchup 2-0 in the inaugural edition in 2019. The Fire now have a record of 6-6-2 in official competitions all-time against Liga MX sides, including a perfect 3-0-0 record under head coach Gregg Berhalter.

Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #cf97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook

Box Score:
Cruz Azul 1:2 Chicago Fire FC

Goals:
CHI - Dithejane (1) (WATCH) 67’
CAZ - Ibáñez (1) (WATCH) 81’
CHI - Dithejane (2) (WATCH) 90+3’

Discipline:
CAZ - Ditta (Caution) 17’
CHI - Dithejane (Caution) 31’
CHI - Pineda (Caution) 88’

Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Waterman, D Elliott (capt.), D Gutman, M Salétros, M D’Avilla, M Oregel Jr. (Pineda,79’), F Zinckernagel (Haile-Selassie, 68’), F Lewandowski (Lod, 68’), F Dithejane (Poreba, 97’)

Subs not used: GK Gal, GK Cohen, D Barroso, D Rogers, D Radojević, D Cupps, M Turdean, F Shokalook

Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter

Cruz Azul: GK Mier, D Ditta, D Piovi (Romero, 44’), D Orozco, M Márquez, M Palavecino, M Lira (capt.), M Rodríguez (Levy, 96’), M Campos, F Paradela, F Fernández (Ibáñez, 77’)

Subs not used: GK Gudiño, GK Ochoa, D Montes, D Díaz, D Suárez, M Montaño, M García, M Jiménez, M González,

Head Coach: Joel Huiqui

Stats Summary: CAZ / CHI
Shots: 17 / 11
Shots on Goal: 5 / 6
Saves: 4 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 84.8% / 85.9%
Corners: 5 / 4
Fouls: 13 / 16
Offsides: 3 / 2
Possession: 52.8% / 47.2%

Venue: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Attendance: 18,567

Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referees: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt, Gerard Kader Lebuis
Fourth Official: Reginald Gumbs
VAR: Lukasz Szpala
AVAR: Daniel Radford