After missing the U.S. men’s national team’s final two friendlies with an ankle injury, top defender Chris Richards is in the lineup for the Americans’ World Cup opener vs. Paraguay on Friday evening.
This isn’t a huge surprise after Richards and U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino each said Richards would be available for the match this week. However, Pochettino refused to share the U.S. starting 11 until it was released, less than 90 minutes out from the Americans’ Group D opener in Inglewood, Calif.
Richards, 26, sustained a pair of torn ligaments in his left ankle while playing for Premier League side Crystal Palace on May 17. He replaces Miles Robinson, who started in Richards’ spot for the U.S.’s two warm-up friendlies against Senegal (May 31) and Germany (June 6).
That’s the only lineup change from the final friendly. While Pochettino kept secret whether Matt Freese or Matt Turner would start in net, Freese got the call — just as he did in the final friendly — over Turner, who was the U.S. starter at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Paraguay also got an injury break as forward Julio Enciso got the starting nod after sustaining an injury in the team’s final friendly against Nicaragua.
U.S. starting lineup vs. Paraguay:
GK Matt Freese
D Sergino Dest
D Tim Ream
D Chris Richards
D Alex Freeman
D Antonee Robinson
MF Weston McKennie
MF Tyler Adams
MF Malik Tillman
F Christian Pulisic
F Folarin Balogun
–Field Level Media
