When it comes to sports and the state of Alabama, American football is king. The University of Alabama is the most decorated team in the land, with an astounding 18 national titles to its name. Nearly every young boy growing up in the state plays the sport in hopes of becoming the next great star of the team known as the Crimson Tide.
But Hoover, Alabama native Chris Richards chose a different path by playing soccer. And while he never experienced the feeling of competing in front 100,000 fans at Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium, he has tasted sweet success at the highest levels of English football.
In the last five months alone, the 25-year-old centre-back has lifted both the FA Cup and Community Shield with Premier League side Crystal Palace, becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet for the Eagles. The same could be said for the USA national team. Richards was one of the most consistent performers during the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, anchoring the back line and helping the FIFA World Cup 26™ co-hosts reach the final.
From an unlikely corner of the country, Richards has become one of the most important players on Mauricio Pochettino’s team. Speaking with FIFA, Richards touched on the atmosphere within the USA team nine months out from the World Cup, what Palace means to him and how a top-flight Argentinian match changed his life.
Chris Richards: I think excited would be the main word. When you go toward such a big event like this, there’s a bit of anxiety because we’re playing on home soil and you want to make sure you put your best foot forward. I think feeling excited and anxious go hand in hand. More than anything, though, we’re excited and proud. I wish it was tomorrow. I’m ready to get going.
Definitely. There’s been a lot of outside chatter from fans and pundits, but our main thing is trusting in the process. Mauricio has a plan for us. Our style of play has improved and I think certain principles that we’ve been trying to work on have also improved. When we can connect good performances with good results, then we’ll be flying.
Yes. I think when you’re forced into an environment like that, you have no choice but to grow together. Both on and off the field, we made a lot of friendships. The World Cup is the Gold Cup times 100. I know once we’re in that environment where we’re around each other all day long for a month-plus, the connections will flourish.
Like I mentioned, there’s been a lot of outside chatter about the maybe lack of caring from us players because of certain performances. I was speaking for myself and I was also speaking for everybody who was there. We love to play for our country. It hasn’t always been perfect, but that’s just part of the game. We just all want to continue to put our best foot forward and give this nation something to be proud of. So that’s really what compelled me to write the message. We’re a year out from World Cup and I think a lot of fans have a lot of questions about this team. But we’re super excited. We just want to make sure the fans are all behind us because we need them more than anything.
Everything. I missed the last World Cup due to injury and with this one being on home soil, it’s been etched in my brain ever since. Also, I’m now 25. There’s a lot of differences from when you’re 22 to when you’re 25. You’ve kind of lived life a little bit more, so I’ve tried to put myself in every position possible to be in this spot. I want to make sure that I keep it and just continue to push myself.
In being a leader. Traditionally, when you think of centre-backs, you think of guys who have to lead the team from the back, and that’s something I’ve pushed myself to do in the last few years. When you’re 22, it’s not something you’re too stressed about, but once you kind of get a bit older, you tend to grow into those roles.
I love Palace. We did something fantastic last year and it gives me a lot of confidence because I was a main part of that team. Even when I first got to Palace, it wasn’t all perfect. I had to pretty much wait about a year-and-a-half before I got my opportunity. Now that I’m here, it’s been amazing. From day one, they treated me like family. Winning the FA Cup last year was the players’ way of repaying the club, repaying the fans, because they’ve always stood behind us through good and bad times.
It was insane. At Palace, we like being the underdog. We went into that final with no fear. I think that’s exactly how we played. We defended our [tails] off. I think that day was probably the proudest moment I’ve had as a soccer player. Just being able to win the first major trophy for Palace in that fashion against a really good (Manchester) City side was amazing.
I pretty much played every sport growing up. I played soccer and basketball until I was 16 years old. It just got to a point where I was fully in love with soccer. My dad didn’t want me to play [American] football because there are always so many concussions. Also with basketball, I was a short kid. The summer I quit basketball was the summer I grew five or six inches. It was a sign! When you grow up in Hoover, football is like religion. It was something that I always wanted to do, but I was always just a smaller kid. My dad kept me away from it and I’m glad he did.
I think so. I think with how I’ve shown out height-wise, weight-wise, I could have done it.
I’d say dream big. Growing up, watching YouTube videos of youth national teams, everybody’s from Florida, New York, California… You don’t see anybody from your home state. It can be a bit frustrating and make you feel like you’ll never get your opportunities. But you just have to keep striving. I didn’t really do that until I was about 16 because I didn’t see an avenue for myself. I was thinking, go to college, go to UAB [University of Alabama-Birmingham] and figure it out afterwards. I think once I finally saw professional soccer for the first time, it was like, this is what I want to do with my life.
When I was 16, I was playing for my club team and I did ODP [Olympic Development Program]. We took a trip to Argentina right before my 16th birthday. It was the first time I got to see professional soccer. I came back home and I told my dad that I just wanted to play soccer from then on.
I want to say it was Velez Sarsfield and Banfield. It was crazy. I just felt the passion and the love of the sport way down there.
