Everything new USMNT fans need to know about cornerstone Chris Richards

Chris Richards has already arrived, with 36 appearances for the USMNT, a leader of the Crystal Palace back line, where he won the FA Cup, and a resume that includes four years at FC Bayern Munich.

He is ready to take the next step at World Cup 2026 and lead on the world’s biggest stage. He wants to be a starter for the USMNT, and he's made that known to Mauricio Pochettino stating: "I never wanted to be just a name on the team sheet. I wanted to be one of the first ones in it."

Chris Richards is in form at the right time

Along with these superlatives, Richards is the most in-form center back available to Pochettino. In Crystal Palace’s four games this April, he started them all and played the full 90, resulting in 2 wins, 1 loss, and a draw.

Palace is safely mid-table in the Premier League and in contention in the Europa Conference League, despite having lost key players to the transfer window, including center-back partner Marc Guéhi leaving for Manchester United.

Post-Guéhi, Richards is emerging as a commanding presence and leader at the heart of the Palace defense. His recent form has not gone unnoticed, with several clubs reportedly monitoring him. According to some sites, his current transfer value is up to €25M, up €10M in the past year. His contract is up in the summer of 2027.

Ready to be a leader (and loves Chili's)

With Richards locking down the back line, the USMNT is looking towards him for leadership, something he’s not shying away from, despite his relatively young age, saying to CBS Sports,  "There’s, I guess, a bit of responsibility to it, but it's not something that I'm scared of."

When an 18-year-old Richards joined Bayern, their undisputed leader was David Alaba, who played for ten years there before leaving for Real Madrid. Alaba took him under his wing and helped him get acquainted with his new surroundings.

Alaba, who will be playing for Austria this World Cup, nicknamed Richards “Texas” because he came from FC Dallas and. although a proud Alabamian, Richards didn’t correct him, after all, he was still a teenager, and Alaba was all-world.

Richards is trying to do the same thing with his USMNT teammates. During the Gold Cup in June, he made sure many of his teammates joined him at a steakhouse in Chicago. In October’s friendlies, he took Cameron Carter-Vickers and Antonee Robinson who both grew up in England to Chili’s.

Richards said, “This is really America … I think that's one of the things that makes us American — places like Chili's are like a staple and I think they finally could have that stamp on their passport now that they've had Chili’s, so I was happy for them."