If it feels like it's been a while, well, it has. Friend of the pod Joe Chatz makes it worth the wait, however, as he joins John and Tim to talk about all that's happened since last time, starting with Hugo Cuypers and Mbekezeli Mbokazi's first XI All-Star nods.
After that, they switch focus to USMNT's friendly against Germany and find things to like even though the game ended in a 2-1 defeat — starting with the fun atmosphere that temporarily made Chicago the center of the country's soccer attention.
Then the trio moves on from the game that was to the games to be played, with the World Cup finally upon us. There's a lot of Fire connections to be made with a record three active players going from Chicago to the world's biggest stage, and the trio break down what to expect from the Bafana Bafana, Canada and the USMNT in their tournaments — and talk about the rise of Fire homegrown Brian Gutiérrez and Mexico, starting with the tournament's opening match that pits Guti against Mbokazi.

Matt Shableman is joined by Alan, the Pole with the Goal, the Sax in the Section, Królikowski, special guest Nick Poteres of Glass House Soccer and Matt's very own groomsman and guiding light, Eray, to talk about a soccer club that is not playing competitive soccer right now. But that doesn't stop the guys from dreaming up a scheme to grab a Championship in 2026. Maybe Ted Lasso was onto something when he told us, "It's the hope that will kill ya," but I'm writing this and am on team cup in '26! This month, we asked you all to vote on if Barroso should go-so, if Franco's new ACL will be as good as his last ACL, and which Fire superstar will win when Brian Gutiérrez and Mexico take on Mbekezeli Mbokazi and South Africa at the World Cup.  John, host of The Bonfire, isn't given the chance to defend himself or the quality of folk hero Johnny Dean in the wake of the Fire's growing stature. Sorry John. The Golden Arches are finally coming to Chicago (strictly in terms of stadium naming rights), something that the World Cup could never do. Recorded LIVE on May 27, 2026.

The Fire closed the first half of their season on a high note, getting a hard-fought 2-1 win over visiting Toronto FC. Before getting into that, though, John and Tim get struck with World Cup fever and ask if Poch is even bothering to phone it in with the USMNT.
When they actually get down to the game at hand, the hosts find a lot to like from a gritty performance. From Robin Lod's improved form, resulting in the opening goal, to Berhalter making adjustments at half that finally seemed to tighten things up with the 4-4-2, all the way to Djé's strong performance off the bench, John and Tim take a lot of positives from a game that was far from the prettiest game on the pitch in the Fire's last game for a month and a half.

With the World Cup looming, John and Tim talk about the Berhalter's public statements around Lewandowski.  After beating a single quote from Gregg to death, John wonders why Tim brought up Lupe Fiasco before the pair finally put two and two together and remember that there's a game on Saturday.
With the Fire set to face Toronto, the duo talk about what they want to see from the Men in Red in their final chance to show improvement in the first half of the season.

The Fire earned their second road win, sweeping the home-and-away series against CF Montréal. So obviously John and Tim spend the better part of half an hour talking about everything that they didn't like. In between finding nits to pick, though, they took time to shout out a great performance by Chris Brady and the quiet excellence of Philip Zinckernagel, all while wondering if Hugo Cuypers's Golden Boot-leading season is slowly getting overshadowed by the looming arrival of a certain recently unemployed Polish striker.
Even if the performance on the pitch may not have been enough to inspire the hosts, at least John and Tim enjoyed it in style — Tim put on his reporter hat and went to Soccer House, the new soccer-only bar in Chicago, where talked to the owner and met up with John (IRL). The duo talked about what they thought of Chicago's new best place to catch World Cup matches.

The Fire had their first come-from-behind win in a 3-1 victory over D.C. United as torrential rain fell on Audi Field. John and Tim break down what they liked, and what they didn't from an effort in D.C. that got the result but somehow left a lot to be desired. There's also news from The 78, as the Fire's new home has a name. Tim really, really pushes for us to all call McDonald's Park "the Burgerbeu" while John points out that we'll probably just end up calling it "The Mac."  With little time to focus on the game that was, they then switch focus to the upcoming match in against CF Montréal in La Belle Province up north.

The Fire put together an uninspiring performance against the New York Red Bulls and suffered their third consecutive home defeat across all comps as a result. John and Tim talk about what went wrong against the Baby Bulls before getting a discussion about how much change is warranted with a game against D.C. United coming up midweek. As John looks for glass to break and an alarm to pull, Tim talks about the lack of game changers on the bench... before saying that the Fire should start some of them in the next game.

Matt returns with Alan and Daniel react to YOUR takes LIVE! Is Hugo Cuypers going to top Nikolic's single season goal scoring record? Can the Fire stay about D.C. United? Mbokazi has committed mistakes recently that set the Fire back, is he a generational talent anyway? We heard your Hot Takes too! Dean has to GO! Lewandowski can stay in Spain! The Midfield is the problem! Recorded LIVE 05/07/2026

The Fire face off against a Red Bull New York side featuring a plethora young American prospects headed up by new coach Michael Bradley in Soldier Field in an Eastern Conference clash.

John is joined by Alex Campbell of CHGO Sports to break down the project being undertaken in New York and how the Fire can take advantage this weekend as they look for breathing room near the top of the Eastern Conference.
The Fire look to close out a win after letting two slip away in a matter of days, while RBNY try to stop a 3 game skid of their own. Three important points are up for grabs Saturday, who will come out on top?

The Fire's rematch against Cincinnati had everything you could ask for — goals, penalties, red cards and shots galore — as long as you didn't ask for a win for the Fire. John and Tim hash out what went wrong and call out a couple young players for especially rough performances before asking how long it'd be before Berhalter remembered that he make substitutes. They also find a minute between shameless plugs for the "5 Things We Learned" piece they cowrote to praise Hugo Cuypers for his performances in a season where he's now got a share of the Golden Boot lead, all while Tim tries to make "xG farming" a thing.