Injury doubt Chris Richards feeling “really good” ahead of USMNT opener

The United States have got a major injury boost ahead of the team’s World Cup opener against Paraguay on Friday. Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards had been a doubt due to an ankle injury but the 26-year-old is optimistic about his fitness.

Speaking on Wednesday, Richards said: “I feel good, really good. I’m not the coach so I can’t say if I’ll be playing on Friday or not, but me personally I would love to be playing that opening game.”

If Richards is cleared to play by the medical staff he is expected to start for Mauricio Pochettino’s side against Paraguay. Asked whether he is feeling pressure ahead of a home World Cup, Richards insisted that it was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

“No, all of us play in a lot of big clubs and in big competitions. I know for us the pressure is what we have inside the group. We try not to rely too much on what people are saying on the outside.”

“We’ve had two good friendlies leading into this. We know that if we can clean up on some things, but also continue to play with the same intensity that we did in the last two friendlies we can get a result on Friday.”

Richards and the USMNT are looking to make history this summer. The team’s best-ever World Cup performance was a quarter-final appearance in 2002 and this team - packed with players from the top European leagues - has a real chance of doing something similar. Asked about the perception of American players overseas, Richards said that he believes the image of US soccer is changing.

“I think our generation and the last generation have definitely gained the respect of the world, and I think people will see that this World Cup,” Richards said.

“Whenever we go and play everywhere else in the world it feels like we have to play twice as hard to get the respect. But so be it. We’re Americans, that’s what we do.”

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