Chris Richards: USA 'Not Afraid of Any Fights' Ahead of 2026 World Cup

Chris Richards is doing his job to represent the USA positively. 

He's won awards at the national team level, grown into a leader for the squad, and taken on an understanding of playing for his country. Richards appeared on FOX Sports' First Things First on Tuesday to reign in the 100 days from the World Cup landmark and express his passion for the U.S. men's national team. 

Richards showed that passion with talent, earning the USMNT Player of the Year in 2025.

"I was kind of stunned to be fair," Richards said. "I feel like I had a good year, but I feel like I still have another level to go. I'm not content, I guess, with the year I had. For everybody to have voted for me to Player of the Year, it meant a lot, especially with the group of names that was on there before me."

Richards, a defender for Crystal Palace, helped the team keep 10 clean sheets in 18 Premier League games during the 2024-25 season and nine clean sheets in 24 appearances this year. He celebrated winning the award, he said, by calling his family. Not only did Richards thank his country, but he expressed gratitude for his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.

"Not many people think of Birmingham as this kind of soccer hotbed and, with all the adversity, all the stigmas ... being the first one from Birmingham to have won this award, it means a lot," Richards said. 

Richards has also discussed what means to represent his country. During a friendly between the USA and Paraguay last November, Richards was part of a late-game brawl between the teams. Both teams play each other once again as World Cup Group D opponents. 

"This is something I'm passionate about, and it makes you even more passionate when you have that USA on your chest. For me, you know, you can call it bad blood, but every team we go out there and play against we want to beat, and we want to beat badly. If they want to bring a fight to it, so be it. I think that’s one of the things that makes us American is that we’re not afraid of any fights," Richards said. 

"That's the mentality we've adopted over the last few years, and especially now, playing on home soil, I feel like we have a lot more to play for. You can call it bad blood, but I think every team we play is a rivalry," Richards added.

There's a history of host countries thriving at the World Cup. Only 2022 hosts Qatar have failed to reach the knockout rounds. Thirteen of the previous 22 host nations have made at least the semifinals, and eight countries had their best finishes ever as World Cup hosts. So how will Richards and the United States ensure that they carry on that trend?

"Knowing that you're playing in front of the country whose flag you're wearing, knowing that you're playing for more than just yourself," Richards said. "I think it has to be pride."