After missing the 2022 World Cup, Chris Richards sped back from an ankle injury to lead the American back line this summer.
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IRVINE, Calif. — At 6-foot-2 and some 200 pounds, Chris Richards would’ve made an imposing wide receiver or defensive back. He certainly has the pace and vertical leap for it, not to mention a high sporting IQ. Born in Birmingham and raised in nearby Hoover, Richards even grew up in prime Alabama football country.
Yet his parents, wary of football’s physical risks, never steered him toward the gridiron. The one year he considered playing football, he got the flu during tryouts. So Richards opted for basketball and soccer, eventually going all in on the latter. If straying from football didn’t make Richards enough of an outlier in Crimson Tide territory, playing soccer — as the son of a Black father and a White mother — certainly did.
“Kids that looked like me,” Richards said, “weren’t playing soccer back home.”
When Richards, 26, anchored the U.S. defense in Friday’s 4-1 win over Paraguay to open the World Cup in nearby Inglewood, California, it marked the latest milestone in a decade-plus path from those Alabama fields to the sport’s grandest stages.
As a teenager outgrowing the Deep South’s soccer ecosystem, Richards ventured to Texas to hone his game. Shortly after turning 18, he signed a contract with MLS club FC Dallas. A few dizzying weeks later, he was bound for Germany to join Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich.
“There weren’t many opportunities for me [in Alabama], so I had to leave home to go pursue my dream,” Richards said. “It was a lot of sacrifices from 15, 16 years old that a lot of kids don’t do.”
“But,” he added, “it all paid off.”
Now a standout for English Premier League side Crystal Palace, Richards is arguably the United States’ most irreplaceable player. Christian Pulisic is the Americans’ brightest star and biggest game changer. Folarin Balogun is the net-piercing striker who fills up the scoresheet. Tyler Adams runs point at the base of midfield. Weston McKennie may be the most complete player. But Richards’s aerial prowess, crunching tackling and tidy distribution are critical to Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s system.
While the U.S. roster boasts more depth than ever before, there’s no one behind Richards who can match his Premier League pedigree and defense-directing influence. Against Paraguay, the center back stepped up with a slew of timely interventions and connected on all 83 of his passes — marking the cleanest passing performance in a World Cup match in 60 years.
“He showed why, for me, he’s one of the best defenders in the world,” winger Tim Weah said. “Super aggressive. His passing was amazing. He finds a way to help us attack even quicker defensively. He’s sound in the air. When you have a player like that, there’s no worries at all.”
But not having Richards? That’s a reason for consternation. A left ankle sprain suffered in a Premier League match May 17 put his World Cup status in doubt. Although he dressed for the Europa Conference League final 10 days later, he didn’t get off the bench as Crystal Palace claimed the title. He also sat out the Americans’ World Cup tuneup games against Senegal and Germany. But the expected recovery — about three weeks — came to fruition, and he returned to full training ahead of the Paraguay match.
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“When I first came out with the injury, I was pretty devastated, and I was honestly fearing the worst,” Richards said. “Once I had the diagnosis, I was like, ‘All right, cool. Whatever it takes, I have to make it for this first game.’”
The defender’s broad grin and cheerful tenor are so omnipresent that it can be tough to get a read on him. When Richards discusses the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which he missed because of a hamstring injury, he articulates an upbeat, matter-of-fact perspective. Still, it’s clear the absence stung. Stepping onto the field at sold-out SoFi Stadium (billed by FIFA as Los Angeles Stadium for this tournament), Richards took time to soak in the pregame pageantry he long envisioned.
“I’ve thought about it for the last four years after missing the last one,” he said. “I’ve thought about the first national anthem, hearing it, and what it would feel like, and I couldn’t even describe how beautiful it was.”
Once the match kicked off, however, he felt devoid of any nerves. And that pesky ankle? A nonfactor. “I felt really good,” he said. “Didn’t think about it once.” He briefly left the field following a clash of heads in the first half but said he was none the worse for wear. “I’m all good — I’ve got a lot of hair,” he laughed. “That’s one of the perks of having this Afro.”
All the while, Richards looked like he belonged out there. His sharp sixth-minute intervention set the stage for the Americans’ opening goal moments later. He nearly found the net with a first-half header off a set piece. As the center of the three-man back line that takes shape when the U.S. is in possession — the middle linebacker, if you will — he snuffed out many a Paraguayan counterattack.
“He’s somebody who commands the presence on the field,” defender Mark McKenzie said. “He’s just somebody who brings a lot of energy, whether it’s understanding where somebody needs to be — you know, ‘Hey, step up’ or ‘wake up’ — or [identifying] somebody who just needs an arm over the shoulder.”
The World Cup debut was the latest résumé booster for Richards, who helped Palace win England’s prestigious FA Cup and Community Shield last year, as well as that recent Conference League crown. With a victory against Australia on Friday in Seattle, the Americans can guarantee a round-of-32 berth with a game to spare.
From there? The U.S. hasn’t won a World Cup knockout game in 24 years. But Richards has never minded being the outsider.
“I’ve kind of gotten used to winning trophies,” Richards said. “So hopefully I can finish off this summer the same way.”
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