Weighing the chances of other Fire players making the MLS All-Star Game

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The Chicago Fire already have two All-Stars in Bastian Schweinsteiger and Nemanja Nikolic, but more may be on the way.

Nikolic and Schweinsteiger were voted into the Fan XI for the August 2 All-Star Game at Soldier Field. Fire coach Veljko Paunovic will select 11 more players and commissioner Don Garber will add the final two to make up a 23-man roster.

Who else might make that group for the Fire? Here’s a look at the chances at some other candidates for the Fire.

Dax McCarty, midfielder

Schweinsteiger is the bigger name and has the better career resume, but a strong argument can be made for McCarty being the Fire’s MVP this year.

McCarty has helped provide key defensive cover for the backline. The Fire’s defensive personnel is almost identical to last year with only Matt Polster, who has started just under half the team’s games, different from the defensive unit a year ago. Despite having similar personnel, the Fire have gone from a team that allowed the second most goals in the league in 2016 (58 in 34 matches) to one of just four teams that is allowing a goal or less per match. McCarty should get a lot of credit for that.

In the attack he has added three assists from a deep position in midfield and is regularly one of the highest-percentage passers on the team. He has helped turn the Fire into a team that was last in the league in possession last year to one that typically has a majority of the ball now.

On top of his two-way contributions, McCarty has been a positive voice in the locker room, always raising expectations and demanding more of the team in postgame comments. Plus, he has become a national team regular under coach Bruce Arena, giving him more cachet.

All-Star Game chances: Lock

David Accam, winger

Accam was good with the Fire his first two years, but he is having a breakout season. He has 10 goals and seven assists, putting him in elite goal-production territory.

Attacking positions have more competition to get on the All-Star roster in MLS, but Accam’s numbers are hard to leave off. Nikolic leads the league in goals plus assists (19) and second place is another Fan XI selection in New York City FC’s David Villa (18). Accam and Portland’s Diego Valeri have identical totals in both stats and both are safe bets to be included on the final roster.

All-Star Game chances: Near-lock

Brandon Vincent, left back

Vincent got a dubious All-Star selection last year as a rookie due to the simple fact that there aren’t many good fullbacks, especially left-sided ones, in MLS. This year, Vincent has turned into a weapon in the attack, contributing a goal and three assists, while continuing to show improvement on the defensive side. McCarty called him one of the top three left backs in the league earlier this season.

The potential downside for Vincent is that the Fire should have at least four others on the roster, meaning his inclusion would give the Fire nearly a quarter of the roster. In Vincent’s favor is that the game is being played in Chicago, which means his coach is picking almost all of the remaining players, and the Fire are tied for the best record in MLS. Going against him is that three of the Fan XI picks were fullbacks (former Fire player DaMarcus Beasley, Greg Garza and Graham Zusi), meaning only one or two more might be picked while center backs take up most of the spots going to defenders.

All-Star Game chances: Bubble selection

Matt Polster, right back

Fire fans have shown appreciation for Polster’s play of late and his name has been started to come up in All-Star discussion. There are a few problems for Polster’s chances though.

For one, he has started only nine matches for the Fire after missing the first two months of the season due to injury. On top of that, he was a bit shaky in those first few starts at right back as he readjusted to a position he hasn’t played consistently in his career.

Polster has four assists, including three in the last three matches, which is a very good return for 10 appearances as a right back. He has gotten better at positioning and service from attacking positions. He may be playing at a near All-Star level lately, but he doesn’t have the same body of work as Vincent and faces the same problems Vincent does in regards to having a bunch of teammates and three fullbacks already on the roster.

All-Star Game chances: Unlikely

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