The San Jose Earthquakes will not know their status in the MLS Is Back tournament for four days unless they win Sunday.

The Quakes (1-1-0, 4 points) face the Chicago Fire in their final Group B game at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida. A victory by either team would win the group. A tie would lead to multiple scenarios.

The group will not be completed Sunday because of a schedule change after FC Dallas and Nashville SC withdrew from the event when about 10 players on each team tested positive for COVID-19.

League officials had to shuffle the schedule pitting the Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps FC in a game Thursday that will determine the group’s final standings. The top two teams from the six groups will advance to the knockout stage. The Round of 16 also will include the four best third-place finishers from the group stage.

The Earthquakes (1-1-2 overall) have four points after defeating Vancouver on Wednesday night. But the only way to guarantee more tournament action is a victory over Chicago, which opened the group with an impressive win against Seattle.

Here is a rundown of the game against Chicago:

How to watch

The game starts at 5 p.m. and will air on FS1 and TUDN, and on the radio at KNBR and KZSF. A drive-in viewing party will be held at Earthquakes Stadium in San Jose.

Earthquakes update

A tie against Chicago would put San Jose in a good position to advance as at least a third-place qualifier. But captain Chris Wondolowski summarized the locker room sentiment best: “We want to win our group,” he said in a conference call.

The Quakes enter the game erasing a two-goal deficit to stun Vancouver 4-3. Shea Salinas scored the game-winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time as San Jose scored three times from the 72nd minute.

“It is good to have that resilience,” Wondolowski said. “It is one of those character games. It’s bigger than three points.”

The central question is whether the Earthquakes can continue their torrid pace employed by coach Matias Almeyda for the first two games. The team is determined to defend in a version of the University of Arkansas’ “40-Minutes of Hell” basketball strategy.

On Wednesday, the ploy led to an MLS record 22 corner kicks. But the Quakes scored only two goals from all of those set pieces.

Chicago’s new coach Raphael Wicky, a former Swiss international player, said he was less concerned with the unusual man-marking defense than the Quakes’ aggressive offense.

“They were the best possession team in the league throughout the whole last year,” Wicky said in a conference call. “Nobody really talks about that. Everybody thinks they are a man-marking team but actually, it is the contrary, they are very good in possession.”

Wondolowski would agree with the assessment.

“We are able to snuff them out on defense but offensively we will be able to find that space and be creative in those one-on-one opportunities.”

Chicago update

The Fire was impressive in defeating Seattle in the tournament opener. It’s going to take time for Chicago to find its footing with its new coach and losing 14 players from 2019.

But the replacements are no slouches. Gaston Gimenez, Ignacio Aliseda, Brois Sekulic and Luka Stojanovic already appear to be good fits. Then there is new striker Robert Beric who scored against the Sounders.

“In Germany, we would say he has a cold mouth,” goalkeeper Kenny Kronholm said. “He is so cold inside the box. He doesn’t need many chances to score.”

Wondolowski said the Fire presents real problems.

“They were so organized and they grouped very well,” he said. “It was pretty impressive to see how organized they were and to see how swift they were on the counterattack. They are going to be a tough team to break down.”