Chris Richards was healthy enough to be included in Crystal Palace’s match-day roster for the UEFA Europa Conference League final on Wednesday, but the USMNT star center back was left out of manager Oliver Glasner’s starting lineup and did not make an appearance in the title-deciding match.
Away from his fellow Americans, the other 25 of whom gathered together in New York City on Tuesday for the official unveiling of the 26-man U.S. World Cup roster, Richards took his spot on the bench in Leipzig, Germany instead, watching as the Eagles battled to victory against La Liga’s Rayo Vallecano for the third-tier European title. Palace walked away with a 1–0 win and some hard-earned silverware, the club’s first European trophy.
Richards is usually a key starter on Palace’s backline, starting 31 Premier League matches this season; however, he suffered two torn ligaments in his ankle last week in league action against Brentford, limiting his ability to contribute to the Conference League final and putting his availability in question ahead of the World Cup.
“Chris is okay, but he’s not at 100%,” Glasner told TNT Sports ahead of the final. “We decided after I talked to him this morning that it’s better to have him on the bench.”
Richards is arguably the most important player to the USMNT’s World Cup hopes this summer, offering an elite presence to the backline after establishing himself as a bona fide Premier League star defender over the past two seasons.
In 2025, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino also heavily relied on Richards, who played a key role as a set-piece target in the run to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup final, the last competitive match before the World Cup next month.
Pochettino had no updates on Richards’s injury status on Tuesday and planned to wait until the Conference League final “to see if he plays and then decide [what needs to be done].”
It is a positive sign, though, that Richards was at least rostered for Wednesday’s title bout. He was also reportedly at Palace’s training this week.
World Cup Tune-Up Friendlies Approach
The USMNT began World Cup training camp on Wednesday at the new national training center in Atlanta, where they will lay the groundwork before playing their first pre-World Cup friendly against Senegal in Charlotte on Sunday.
Richards is expected to fly to the U.S. soon after the Conference League final and has not been ruled out of Sunday’s friendly nor the send-off match against Germany on June 6.
Should he suffer a setback in his recovery and be unable to participate at the World Cup, the USMNT has until 8:59 p.m. ET/5:59 p.m. PT on June 11 to make any final roster changes before the 26-player group is locked for the remainder of the tournament.
