IRVINE, Calif. – U.S. men's national team defender Chris Richards trained fully with his teammates on the World Cup squad on Monday, marking the first time he joined the group four days before their tournament opener against Paraguay.
Richards trained in full during a light session on Monday, the squad's first in their World Cup base camp of Great Park in the southern California city of Irvine. The day's activities included a running warm-up and some work on the ball in small groups, including shooting practice. The starters from Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Germany at Chicago's Soldier Field worked separately from the rest of the group. Training took place in front of 5,500 locals, who were selected from a lottery that 33,000 entered, as part of an initiative from FIFA to host community-focused events in the build-up to the World Cup.
Chris Richards is taking part in the warm-up#USMNT pic.twitter.com/VhK5ifsEqk
— Pardeep Cattry (@pcattry) June 8, 2026
"We will see," head coach Mauricio Pochettino said when asked at the start of training how Richards would manage the day's load. "Today, first time with the team. I think it's good to have nearly everyone who's able to be selected for the game."
There was still a member of the team missing on the field – Tyler Adams. The midfielder did not take part in Monday's session, the team citing load management as the reason why. The same was true in the first session after the USMNT's 3-2 win over Senegal on May 31, though he trained the remaining three days in between the friendlies. Adams has dealt with a series of hamstring issues in recent years but does not appear to be on a minutes restriction, playing 72 minutes against Germany on Saturday.
Richards' availability has been the big uncertainty lingering over the U.S. team for several weeks now. He sustained an ankle injury on May 17 while playing for Crystal Palace but missed both of his club's final games of the season and both of the USMNT's pre-World Cup friendlies. Pochettino complained on Friday that he and his coaching staff were still playing catch-up because Palace – and other clubs that the U.S. players compete for – have not always been the most forthcoming with fitness information.
"We thought he might be available against Senegal but the timelines kept dragging it out." Pochettino said at the time. "It's frustrating, I'm not happy about it because we know Chris is a key player. Everyone knows that but regarding the information we are working with … often there's a lack of clarity. We kept hoping Chris would be ready … but we end up with a player who hasn't been competing and then we have to decide if he's fit enough to play – and there isn't much time during the World Cup."
The full 26-player World Cup squad has yet to fully train as a group since camp opened on May 27 at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Ga.
No news yet on World Cup starters
The USMNT enter the final leg of their World Cup preparations, the group now just four days and 50 miles away from their opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium. The proximity, though, does not mean the starting lineup is locked in just yet – at least from the players' perspective.
"No," goalkeeper Matt Freese said when asked if he knows the lineup for Friday's game. "Just focus on training today. We have 5,500 fans lighting this place up, so I'm pumped for training."
Freese has been the U.S. team's starter in goal for nearly a year, even though he only earned his first cap in June of last year. His understudy and 2022 World Cup starter Matt Turner, though, enters the World Cup in better form than Freese at the club level and could theoretically make a case to start against Paraguay even if it feels unlikely at this point.
"I don't hear it, not really listening to anyone outside of the guys with me and the coaching staff, obviously," he said about the criticism he has faced externally. "Focused on doing my thing each and every day and being present and with that in mind, it is fair to say the U.S. has a great goalkeeping core historically. I was a fan of that goalkeeping core for much of my life. I still am and so it's an honor to be on this team and be part of that group to hopefully continue that great legacy."
Richards' return could alleviate some of the burden the USMNT's goalkeeper will face once the World Cup finally begins, in large part because it remains the team's most noticeable weakness. Miles Robinson played 107 of the 180 minutes available to him in the USMNT's pre-World Cup friendlies but was at fault for a goal in each of the Senegal and Germany games, a signal that the quality drops when Richards is not on the field. One of Mark McKenzie or Auston Trusty is likely to start instead if Richards cannot, while Tim Ream and Alex Freeman each started both games as two members of a three-person back line.
Those shaky defensive moments tend to stand out for a U.S. team that has opted to lean fully on their attacking depth, and will likely be a focus of their final days of training before the World Cup finally begins.
"There's always room and areas to improve. Obviously not happy with the goals conceded," Ream, the captain, said. "We'll look at the video over the next couple of days and understand where we can be tighter and where we can be more connected. If you look at the Germany thing compared to the Senegal game … We'll look at areas and make sure everything's tightened up and buttoned up."
The World Cup is starting to feel real for the group, though, a unique summer awaiting them no matter how it all goes down.
"You say it's not our first rodeo, but it's our first one on home soil so it kind of is our first rodeo," Ream said. "In a way, it's exciting. I'm old enough that I remember bits and pieces of 1994, so I've tried to tell guys and tried to convey the message in the media that this is a once-in-a-career opportunity and with that comes more expectation, more pressure, but at the same time, we have to enjoy it. There's nobody putting more expectation and more pressure on us than ourselves and that's the way that it should be. For me, it's about just opening your eyes and taking everything in because this is unique. This is different. This is completely different from anything that any of us has experienced, so take it in, enjoy it, embrace everything that it is because it's so unique and it's so special and it's not something that we'll ever get to do again."
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