‘I want to continue to be a leader here’ - USMNT star Chris Richards embraces bigger Crystal Palace role after fulfilling World Cup dream

GOAL sat down with the American star to discuss his roles with club and country, being a mentor to Zavier Gozo, and why the last few years have helped him believe more is possible.

Ryan Tolmich01 Sept 2026Last updated 01 Sept 2026

The thing about World Cups is that they end, even the ones on home soil.
A player can spend years building toward a summer, pushing their mind and body to the limit, and then that summer ends. Life goes on. Everything has changed, it seems, but some things haven’t changed at all.
That is what U.S. international Chris Richards has been mulling over in the weeks since the World Cup ended.
“Since the tournament ended, it's been this weird gap in time,” he tells GOAL,"where it's like, obviously you got knocked out, didn't win, and you're disappointed about that, but then also you're somewhat happy in the back of your mind because you just fulfilled a childhood dream.”
His life has shifted dramatically after fulfilling that dream. Yet when he arrived back in London, part of him felt as though nothing had changed. He leapt straight back into life as a Crystal Palace player and, just as crucially, as a father.
“Then your team's already in preseason, so you really can't take the time off to enjoy the off-season like you want. You get thrown into the middle of preseason, and some of the guys are already fitter than you, so it's this weird dynamic that was tough to navigate.”
This fall, then, represents both a continuation and a fresh start for Richards: the same player and person, but one shaped by everything he experienced over the summer.
“Ultimately, it feels a little bit of both [a continuation and a new beginning]. I'd say it's a continuation of the last two cycles I've been a part of, just because I know that's how it works. It's not like you just completely sack off the team that was at the World Cup and move on from there.”
Richards is moving on, though. There are new faces at Palace, including a little brother figure in 19-year-old American Zavier Gozo, who has completely altered his perspective on the national team.
There have been departures over the past few seasons, too, from Michael Olise to Marc Guehi to Maxence Lacroix, that have left Richards as one of the key senior leaders at a club that has shifted culture in unfathomable ways over the last two years.
Richards’ recent success has helped usher in those changes. Now, as one of the key figures in a Palace team ushering in their own new era, the 26-year-old center back is more important than ever in his part of London. That’s an exciting challenge to start this World Cup cycle, but also this cycle of life, too.
“You see people talking about how that FA Cup team will forever be Palace legends,” he says. “I was the only player that played all 90 minutes during that cup run. The Conference League, winning a European trophy is unreal.
“It's amazing to think that we are leaving a legacy for this club, and hopefully it's something we continue to build on.”
The building, of course, has already started.
Turning the page
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The defender achieved his childhood dream this summer, but life goes on now that the summer is over.
When asked about the World Cup, Richards instantly starts talking about a catalogue of moments. There were the on-field ones, of course: the flyovers, the goals, the celebrations. The ones he’s thought about more and more recently are the off-field ones, though. Those are the moments frozen in time.
“Christian [Pulisic] got us all watches, and we did it outside," Richards recalls. “We did a little drum roll, and everyone went up there and did something stupid before receiving it. Everyone remembers that moment because it was just everyone being a kid again and just enjoying each other. There was this nervous energy before that first game, but that's how it goes. "
Richards spent much of his downtime with Timothy Weah and Mark McKenzie, watching Pop the Balloon or Find Love, roasting marshmallows around the fire pits outside their rooms and listening to music. Those ordinary moments allowed them to forget about soccer, be themselves and build a brotherhood that Richards believes will last well beyond the tournament.
“The main thing is we built that brotherhood, and it could never be taken away from us,” Richards said.
The World Cup was nearly taken away from Richards. After missing out in 2022, the defender suffered a pre-tournament scare with an ankle injury that, for a few weeks, left many crossing their fingers. For a time, there were doubts about the World Cup. Did Richards, at any point, feel those doubts himself?
“I'll say yes and no,” he can admit now with a smile. “‘I’ve had ankle injuries before, and so I understood what it took to get to a playing level, and, if worst came to worst, it was gonna have to be taking a pretty good painkiller. The good part is that I didn't end up really having to take any.
“For me, I mean, it didn't matter what it was gonna take. I was gonna play in this World Cup, especially after missing the last one. There was no way I was missing this tournament.”
Richards is thinking more than ever about taking care of himself and his body, especially after coming so close to missing a second consecutive World Cup due to injury.
“I've self-proclaimed it, but I think when I first joined Palace, I wasn't necessarily doing the most professional stuff when it came to recovery, nutrition and things like that,” he says. “Sometimes injuries are inevitable, but I’ve tried to incorporate things off the field that would help me on the field.
“I've actually been wearing the Stelo glucose biosensor, and it's been really good for, of course, stuff on the field, but I think the biggest difference I see is off the field because they go hand in hand, and so you know nutrition. I think grew up a little bit. That metabolism starts slowing down a little bit, I'm not the same kid as I was!”
Once this summer effectively ended with the USMNT’s loss to Belgium, Richards didn’t linger. He didn’t stay stateside for too long before heading back to London. It was a short break, he said, largely because he knew what the impact of a longer one could be.
“Going home, eating American food,” he says with a laugh, “it can do something to you.”
When Richards did get back to Palace, he entered a team already in preseason. He also entered a team that had no shortage of World Cup stories to tell. Palace had 13 players at this summer’s tournament. Only five teams in the world had more.
Because of that fact, there was a different type of reception for this summer’s World Cup veterans, but also a sense of normalcy for a club that has come to expect these sorts of achievements.
“I've felt, well, I think I’ve felt, a newfound kind of trust from the team,” he says. “I had a good World Cup, but I think everybody was watching everybody at the World Cup. You're watching your teammates play, and you come back, and everybody kind of has this newfound respect for the person next to you who did well, or performed at all at the World Cup.”
It has, generally, been a summer of change for Palace, though. The club has lost some key players. Those players are working to gel in these early weeks of the season. Before you know it, though, the next international break will be here, which will put Richards right back into USMNT mode.
When that happens, the switch will flip with a different type of mindset, largely thanks to a new teammate at Palace.
“I think the reason why it feels a bit newer,” he says, “ is that I have guys like Zavier here with me at Palace now.”
The Gozo effect
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The arrival of another American has thrust Richards into a new role: mentor.
Richards can admit that he didn’t quite know what to expect when Palace signed Gozo from Real Salt Lake this summer. Because of their shared nationality, there’s this assumed expectation that the two would have a bond. You never know what that will look like, though. Would their personalities mesh? Would Richards’ leadership style work with Gozo? Given their positions on the field, what could they learn from one another?
“I think whenever a young kid comes into a team like this, you are a bit hesitant, especially when they're from your own country,” he says. “There's always like, ‘Oh, you have to take care of him’, but one thing that's been really amazing seeing him is that he doesn't fear anybody.
“I think a lot of the time, young kids play young. He actually plays very mature, and I think that's helped him.”
Whether he knows it or not, Gozo has helped Richards, too. Now 26 with 40 caps to his name, Richards is a USMNT veteran. He now has a World Cup under his belt and is among the contenders to captain the team in the 2030 cycle. If you were to break down the USMNT player pool, Richards would be among the names right at the very top.
Gozo, meanwhile, is a player fighting for that distinction. His rise in MLS came just a few months too late for him to make the World Cup squad, but his USMNT debut will surely be coming in the very near future. The road to that debut is defined by hunger. Richards remembers his own road well, and it’s been refreshing to talk about that hunger with someone just starting their own journey.
“You can see how he's looking at the national team as this ultimate goal,” he says. “For me to have the perspective of somebody who's looking to make his first cap, that's what's made it refreshing for me. It’s understanding that it is now ultimately going to be a new cycle. You have World Cup qualifiers, you have things like that that we didn't have to deal with last cycle.”
Gozo isn’t the only one at Palace looking towards Richards for leadership, though. Given the current state of the club, Richards is now one of Palace’s most important players.
New mentality at Palace
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With two trophies in as many seasons, Crystal Palace are now holding themselves to new standards.
Guehi left in the winter. Lacroix followed this summer. With two-thirds of Palace's go-to central defense playing elsewhere, Richards is the last one standing from the teams that won historic trophies in back-to-back seasons.
It’s a role that Richards has been growing towards, and one that he’s glad to take on as the club brings in new faces to replace those they’ve lost.
“Understanding that we've lost a few guys and potentially gaining some new guys, it's been good to step into that leadership role that I think I've done with the national team,” he says. “It's prepared me for this role with Palace. I think it's just about being more vocal…Guys are looking at me for guidance, not just in what I say, but also in what I do.
“For me, I would say it's been a challenge, but not a challenge that I shy away from. I think it's just a new challenge and something that I really, in my career, really want to continue to learn from and grow from.”
That said, the expectations at Palace are different, too. The club ended a 119-year wait for major silverware by winning the FA Cup in 2025. They followed that up by winning the Conference League earlier this year, adding European silverware to their domestic trophy.
Because of that, the mentality at the club has shifted. This is no longer a club content with survival, and Richards says that mentality is felt every day.
“Maybe four years ago when I first came into the club, these weren't goals that we thought were realistic or they weren't even things that we put on our board,” he says. “Now, we've won silverware two years in a row, and we have the taste of it now. We want to keep going, and so, for me, it's been really exciting.
"When you hear about new players signing here or just talking about the culture of the club, now they refer to us as a team that wins trophies…This is something that two years ago, three years ago, four years ago, wasn't necessarily on our radar and now that we've done it, we want to continue this and leave the club better than we than we than we joined.”
Richards is a key part of that, and he hopes to be going forward, too.
The next steps
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A new cycle has started, which means Richards has a chance to build on the successes of the last one.
For most of Richards’ life, and particularly the last four years, the end goal was obvious: the World Cup. That box has been checked. Now, his attention shifts back to the day-to-day challenge of club soccer. At Crystal Palace, where key players continue to depart and the team is constantly evolving, Richards wants to become one of its constants: a leader capable of guiding the club through change and toward more silverware.
“I want to continue to be a leader here at Palace,” he says, and hopefully be a big part of another season that brings this club a trophy. When it comes to the national team, I would love to captain my country through the cycle and going to another big tournament in four years would be amazing.”
And the off-the-field stuff? Much of that is focused on his young daughter. Parenting is a goal that never ends, after all.
“I think personally, just continuing to watch my daughter grow,” he says, “I think that's been one of the best things in life: seeing a person that's half you and half your partner growing and becoming their own person. It's been amazing seeing her gain these little phrases, little haptics.
“We have an apartment that you can see a nice view of the London skyline, and every time an airplane flies by, she freaks out. She'll stare out the window for 20-30 minutes, and she won't bat an eye. Little things like that, after tough days of work, make it easy to come home to and just enjoy yourself.”
There’s plenty to enjoy, of course, but Richards isn’t really in the business of looking back. There’s no time to think about legacy, even if his place in Palace history is secure. He wants to make his daughter proud, though what that actually means remains broad and undefined. He’ll know if he succeeded in the end.
“For me, I want to do something that I'm proud of, that makes my family proud, that I can show my daughter one day like, ‘Your dad did this’,” he says. “Ultimately, if we come back to Palace in 20 years, and there's a Chris Richards painting with an afro somewhere, I think that'd be a pretty cool thing.”

‘I want to continue to be a leader here’ - USMNT star Chris Richards embraces bigger Crystal Palace role after fulfilling World Cup dream

Turning the page

The Gozo effect

New mentality at Palace

The next steps