Richards recovers from injury for USA's World Cup campaign

United States defender Chris Richards insisted he is ready to feature for his country at the World Cup.

Co-hosts USA begin their campaign on June 12 against Paraguay, though Richards' fitness was in question for the tournament.

The 26-year-old suffered an ankle injury on May 17 in Crystal Palace's draw with Brentford, causing him to miss their final league game of the season, while he was an unused substitute in their Conference League final win over Rayo Vallecano.

Richards was also absent for the United States' World Cup warm-up friendlies against Germany and Senegal, though he is determined to feature at the tournament at any cost.

"I'm ready," said Richards. "I mean, it's the World Cup, so I'm going to make myself ready regardless.

"I'm feeling good. Maybe a little swollen, but nothing tape can't help.

"When I first came out with the injury, I was pretty devastated, and I was honestly fearing the worst. But I kind of forced myself back on the pitch to prove to myself that it was doable.

"I wouldn't put myself in a position if I didn't think that I could do everything 100%.

"I mean, I think part of playing this sport is you're going to have some pain at some point, and I'm totally OK with that as long as functionally I'm good. That's the No. 1 thing for me."

The 2026 World Cup will be the USA’s 12th appearance and their second as hosts, after reaching the round of 16 in 1994, when they were eliminated by eventual champions Brazil.

They won only one of their four matches in 1994, a 2-1 group stage victory against Colombia.

This will be the second World Cup meeting between the United States and Paraguay.

Their only previous encounter came in 1930, when the USA won 3-0 – a match that featured the first hat-trick in World Cup history, scored by Bert Patenaude.