Chris Richards will miss the start of U.S. World Cup training camp, but for a very good reason.
He and his Crystal Palace teammates are going to play for a European trophy in Leipzig, Germany, on May 27 — the same day U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino will begin the final World Cup preparations in the Atlanta area.
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Richards’ schedule was solidified Thursday in London when Crystal Palace defeated Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, 2-1, for a 5-2 aggregate victory in the semifinals of the third-tier UEFA Conference League. Spain’s Rayo Vallecano toppled France’s Strasbourg in the other bracket.
FIFA requires clubs to release players upon the completion of activities on May 24-25, though exemptions exist for continental competitions, such as UEFA finals. Aside from the Crystal Palace-Rayo Vallecano showdown, Arsenal will play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 30 in Budapest.
Richards will miss U.S. roster announcement festivities May 26 in New York and at least two U.S. sessions at the U.S. Soccer Federation’s new national training center in Fayetteville, Georgia.
The Alabama-born center back, who has appeared in 45 matches across all Crystal Palace competitions this season, would presumably join the squad ahead of the May 31 friendly against Senegal in Charlotte.
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The Americans will also face Germany on June 6 in Chicago before moving into its World Cup base camp in Irvine, California, ahead of the June 12 opener against Paraguay in Greater Los Angeles.
Crystal Palace, which last year won the FA Cup for the first time, has never won a European trophy. The May 27 winner will receive an automatic berth in next season’s Europa League, UEFA’s second-tier competition.
It’s been an otherwise glum season for the Eagles, who lost to sixth-division Macclesfield in the third round of the FA Cup and are 15th in the Premier League, seven points above the relegation zone.
Crystal Palace has four Premier League matches left, including two against the top trophy contenders: at second-place Manchester City on Wednesday and home against frontrunning Arsenal on May 24.
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Richards, 26, becomes the sixth current or former USMNT player to be part of a European final.
In 2021, Christian Pulisic won the Champions League with Chelsea against Manchester City, which employed Zack Steffen as a backup goalkeeper. A year later, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Timmy Chandler and Glasgow Rangers’ James Sands met in the Europa League final. Last year, Johnny Cardoso started for Real Betis in the Conference League final against Chelsea.
