Guilherme Santos brings samba to Houston

HOUSTON  – After slotting the ball between Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady’s legs to give the Dynamo the lead for good Saturday night, Brazilian Guilherme Santos showed off his roots.

The Houston Dynamo FC forward celebrated with an impromptu samba performance in front of the pro-Dynamo crowd of 20,068 at Shell Energy Stadium.

“Hopefully,” Dynamo coach Ben Olsen said, “there’s more of that. … I think (Guilherme is) a guy that’s fun to watch, and he’s also working his tail off out there.” 

Santos, the veteran designated player in his official MLB debut, was the story of the night as the Dynamo opened the 2026 Major League Soccer season with a 2-1 victory.

Lessons from Neymar

After scoring a hat-trick in the Dynamo’s final preseason match against the New York Red Bulls at the Torneo de Tejas, Santos received a congratulatory message from a former teammate, Neymar. In his MLS debut, the Dynamo forward carried that momentum into the season opener, scoring twice and leading the Dynamo to a 2–1 victory over the Chicago Fire.

That's a BRACE for Guilherme's debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/8qZ3RFgu7n

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) February 22, 2026

“Playing with Neymar was the easiest thing I’ve ever experienced in football,” Guilherme said through a translator. “I learned so much from Neymar over the years.”

“After my hat-trick in the last game, Neymar sent me a message saying, ‘Great job, you learned that from me, right?’”

Guilherme is on a full transfer from Santos FC in Brazil, where he played alongside Neymar. He scored 12 goals and had 11 assists in 121 Série A appearances. In Série B, Guilherme scored 30 goals and had 16 assists in 97 appearances. He’s appeared in Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and Copa do Brasil. 

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Guilherme Santos became the third player in Dynamo history to score multiple goals in his first league appearance. The only other players to reach that mark were Brian Ching, who scored four goals in Houston’s inaugural MLS match on April 2, 2006, against Colorado. Ariel Lassiter scored two goals against Minnesota on Sept. 2, 2020.

Forward Hugo Cuypers put the Chicago Fire on the board first by intercepting a poor pass by forward Mateusz Bogusz. The Dynamo started the second half more aggressively.  Guilherme leveled the score in the 67th minute.

Comeback through ball

Midfielder Jack McGlynn placed a perfect through ball to Guilherme, who broke free down the middle of the pitch and sent a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner of the goal. Guilherme completed his brace and broke out his samba moves 11 minutes later.. 

“We give him a little freedom, which is why he’s a little higher up the field,”  head coach Ben Olsen said. “It’s two games in a row where he’s been putting up numbers. 

“This is a guy who has been playing at a really high level in a serious league against great players for a long time, and I, you see the quality that he brings.” 

Through his translator, Guilherme said Neymar mentioned he would be in the United States soon with the World Cup approaching. 

Guilherme added that it would be a dream come true for him to play alongside Neymar for the Houston Dynamo. Jokingly, he said he plans to extend the invitation when they meet.