'Intensity and passion' - USMNT spotlight isn't on Chris Brady yet, but the Chicago Fire's World Cup hopeful is ready

Brady's professional dreams didn't begin with a moment, but rather a series of events. There was no singular turning point; this was a domino effect, one that Brady traces all the way back to his childhood. As a kid, soccer was fun. As he and his friends got better, it got more serious. Once he reached the Chicago Fire academy, it became real. There was a chance, he remembers believing, that something could actually happen.

"The feeling really started to set in like, 'Okay, this is something I can take into my future and maybe this is something I can do as a job,'" Brady says. "Even then, it still felt like a dream. It was just crazy talk."

What helped massively, Brady can admit now, is that there was someone turning that dream into reality right in front of him.

In March of 2020, Brady signed his homegrown deal with the Fire. Shortly after, the Fire handed the starting gig to goalkeeping prodigy Gabriel Slonina. A few months younger than Brady, Slonina was the Fire's starter for two years as he became a rising star stateside and a European transfer target. He signed for Chelsea in 2022, just after his 18th birthday.

As it turned out, though, Slonina wasn't the only young goalkeeper in the Fire academy capable of shining in MLS. When Slonina headed to London, the Fire passed the gloves to Brady. He didn't always feel ready for them, though, particularly in those early moments. Slonina's success did hang over him a bit, he admits. It took him a while to feel he had truly emerged from his predecessor's shadow.

"There was this belief of it being possible for someone in my shoes," Brady says. "We're from similar areas, same age, similar builds, similar backgrounds, so it was helpful. He was a little different than me, though. His approach, everything he was, was different. I took my sweet time developing my professional demeanor and how I play and all of that. He was faced with a lot in a short period of time, and he had to adjust quickly, whereas I was given one or two years of buffer to really build my skillset."

Those comparisons were unavoidable, but Brady eventually learned that replacing Slonina did not mean replicating him.

"Once he had left, it was more about how I can do this my way. A lot of people were covering him and his path, so it was a little daunting at first. Being a young keeper gifted an opportunity to start for his hometown club when the last keeper was also in your shoes, there was a lot of comparison and, as a young guy, I didn't really know how to handle that. It bothered me quite a bit. I understand now that, at least from a media perspective, it's only natural for those comparisons to take place because of the similarities. For me, it was tough in those early years, but I did find my stride a year or two in."

Brady hasn't looked back since finding that stride, emerging as one of MLS's best young goalkeepers while putting himself into the conversation as one of the league's best, full stop.

The leap to MLS is never easy, particularly as a young goalkeeper. Brady had some seasoning when he made that leap, having played for Forward Madison and Chicago Fire II, but MLS was different. After one appearance in 2022, he was the Fire's full-time starter in 2023. He was just 19 years old.

"The biggest thing in terms of the game itself is definitely the speed of play," Brady says. "That's something that, coming from the youth teams and youth environments into MLS, was the biggest standout to me. When you get the ball passed back to you or get the ball in your hands, there's a very limited amount of time, and you have to think quickly. That was something that took me a little while to develop."

Naturally, when a 19-year-old goalkeeper is given a starting job, he does need that time to develop. The Fire have been patient and given him that time. Now 23, Brady is no longer viewed as a young goalkeeper, despite being the age of some MLS rookies. He has over 100 MLS games under his belt at the senior level and has been a key figure in the Fire's revival, which has continued this season as the club sits fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Brady says the evolution has been gradual, but it's been sped up massively over the last year or so. That speed up coincides with the arrival of manager Gregg Berhalter, the former USMNT coach who took charge of the Fire ahead of the 2025 season. With Berhalter as a mentor and sounding board, Brady says his mindset has changed. So, too, has his confidence level.

"Gregg coming in last year and really changing the culture and the way we approach and want to play has helped me grow as a goalkeeper," Brady says. "He's given me so much confidence with the ball at my feet. He's one of those guys who doesn't care if you f*ck up. He wants to make sure you're making the right decisions and you're taking the steps to better your own game. That's what I really appreciate."

The big talking point hasn't been anything specific. Berhalter's lessons haven't been about foot placement, decision-making or passing; they've been about the big picture. Over the course of a game, what can Brady do to be a part of that big picture? What can he do to make his mark in ways other goalkeepers can't or don't? Can his ability to make plays impact the other team's decision-making? What about his own?

"It's not just one moment," Brady says. "I can be the best goalkeeper in one moment, but how can I help the team and affect the game for 90 minutes? How can I put together a fluid game? That's something that, even this year, we're still working on, but there are little things that are skipped over with certain coaching staffs, but because of the quality Gregg has as a coach, he makes sure it's fine-tuned. You can't find that many other places."

It helps, too, that Berhalter has played and coached at a level that Brady wants to get to. Every player dreams of representing their national team, and Brady is right in the mix. Berhalter, a former USMNT player and coach, is the first one backing him to do it.

“He’s handling it really well,” Berhalter said at a press conference. “When you look across the league, I think a lot of the players that are in contention with the national team are performing at a good level, and you don’t seem to see pressure getting to them, and Chris is another example of that.

“He’s working; he understands that all he can control is his performance. He’s highly engaged and really wants to have a good ending to this first half of the season and then, hopefully, cement himself in the World Cup.”

With the World Cup looming, Brady does have legitimate hopes of being involved. It seemed so far away just a year ago, but Brady's path towards the USMNT went into overdrive last summer.

Brady's first USMNT training session came ahead of last summer's World Cup. It was eye-opening, a "complete shock", in his own words. Toni Jimenez and Jack Robinson, the USMNT's goalkeeping staff, put the group through a lot. It changed Brady for the better, right there on day one.

"Toni and Jack, they operate way differently," Brady says. "They make you think in ways you didn't think were possible."

Brady stayed with the USMNT through the Gold Cup, serving as the team's third goalkeeper. His rise was, in part, due to luck, or, more specifically, the bad luck of others. Both Zack Steffen and Patrick Schulte were originally set to be part of the pre-Gold Cup camp, but both pulled out due to injury. That opened the door for Brady to get his opportunity.

Once he walked through that door, Brady didn't find a cold-hearted competition. Instead, he found a group of players eager to uplift him. That first day of training, he worked alongside Steffen, Matt Turner, and Matt Freese. They welcomed him with open arms, despite the fact that they were all competing for the same thing.

"They were all super helpful and encouraging when sh*t doesn't go your way," he says. "It's always, 'Onto the next one'. It's a very uplifting environment that they've built and, throughout the duration of the Gold Cup and the camps that followed, it's felt special. Those types of environments are what take a goalkeeper corps further. I feel like that's not common everywhere you go, though. It's the people who really make it so.

"You never know what's going to happen, so it helps when you've got a group of guys who are big on camaraderie and chemistry and are very uplifting with each other, so I'm thankful to be a part of something like that."

That camaraderie is by design. In 2024, Schulte told GOAL that Turner and Steffen, in particular, helped him with countless tips and tricks. Turner, in turn, has said he learns from everyone who walks onto the field with gloves on. Everyone has something to teach, and everyone has something to learn. Because of that, there are no outsiders. Jimenez and Robinson like it that way.

"I think it can be a really lonely place at times as well," Robinson told GOAL in 2025. "As a goalkeeper, it's you and 10 outfield players, so you need a coach to understand that. If you're coaching goalkeepers, you have to have that relationship with them. Our relationship with them is different from the manager, who has to deal with 24 players and staff. We have to have a closer relationship with them so we can push them and challenge them, but also support them."

Jimenez added, "That relationship is very, very close. We share so much time together and less time with the team. We must make sure the keepers understand that we are close to them. It can be a little bit delicate, but you have to be able to transmit real things to the keeper. Ultimately, the football is played by the players, the keeper, and the others on the pitch. We are the tools for them, but the most important thing is the keeper themself."

Brady has yet to have his signature USMNT moment. After being part of the Gold Cup team that went to that competition's finale, he's been called back in for October and March camps. He's yet to see the field, though. USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino has leaned on Freese and Turner as his primary goalkeepers. Brady's job, then, has been to help lift them up while furthering his own game as that third or fourth goalkeeper in camp.

While he hasn't had that on-field moment yet, Brady has already made a decent amount of USMNT memories. That's what happens when you're on a tournament roster, traveling the country with rivals that became teammates and, ultimately, friends.

"Whether it's a phone game or hanging at the hotel, all of us found a way to embrace one another and build that chemistry," he says. "I think that had a big impact on how far we went in that tournament. Tournament teams are different, man. You're with guys a ton of time, a ton of travel, different faces, different places, but it's the core group of guys, and if you can enjoy the presence of those people, you'll be just fine.

"That was the biggest thing for me: just being a part of something like that. It'll always stick with me."

There is, of course, another tournament right around the corner. Brady is trying not to think too much about it.

Even now, after every game, Brady does what he's always done. There's a routine there and, despite all that's changed in his life, he isn't looking to change it. After every game, he calls the Chicago Fire's Director of Goalkeeping at the academy level. He's been doing it for years, and it isn't changing now, even with a life-changing summer potentially set to kick off next week.

"There wasn’t a moment that changed me, but a person," Brady says. "Igor Dimov. He was the guy I would describe as my rock, my soundboard, whether he was involved or not in my first team sessions and games. He's the guy that, even today, I still give him a call after every game, and he gives his two cents. I appreciate his insight. He was the person who helped guide and lead my path."

Will that path end up leading Brady to a World Cup? Only Pochettino and his staff know. That fact has been on players' minds for months. Some admit they've been consumed by it, thinking about World Cup preparation more and more each day as the tournament draws closer. Now, with the roster set to be announced on Tuesday, it's reaching a boiling point. It's all many can think about.

Brady admits that he thinks about it, too, as hard as he tries not to. It's impossible to avoid, particularly now. He has a chance to go to a World Cup and, even at 22, he knows what that chance means.

"I will say I've been fairly good these past few weeks of just separating that and focusing on what we're trying to achieve here in Chicago," he says, "Because, ultimately, what we do week to week is the most important until the World Cup hits. Once you're included or not included in the squad, you can take it from there. I've been able to detach because I feel like, if I think too much about it, I'll probably get a little overwhelmed by how impactful it might be."

That ability to compartmentalize comes, in part, from what Chicago still means to him.

"I was blessed that all of my friends and family were there for my first MLS start in 2022. That's something that, even today, is a confidence builder. When I'm walking out on the field, I know that my family and friends are in the stands. I get to represent not just the name on my shirt, but who I was when I was younger and wasn't a pro. It means everything because it's a life experience for me. It's a life experience for them. I make sure I don't take it for granted."

As of now, there are no assumptions or expectations; Brady is simply looking ahead to this weekend. The Fire play Toronto in their final pre-World Cup game Saturday. In all likelihood, he won't play again until July 16.

The big question is, of course, what happens in between. Will he get that opportunity? Will it go to someone else? Will everything Brady's done over the last year lead to the chance to be a part of it all? That isn't for him to decide. If he is there, though, and he is part of the goalkeeping corps that will lead the U.S. into the biggest World Cup in the country's history, Brady will be ready to compete, regardless of what he's competing for and how many are watching.