The U.S. men’s national team’s attacking third stole the show in the team’s 4-1 win over Paraguay in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Friday night.
But USMNT defender Chris Richards was a crucial supporting actor.
Richards, 26, has long been identified as the USMNT’s most important defender if they want to have success in this World Cup. But the Crystal Palace star’s availability was in question up until match time due to him tearing two ankle ligaments in late May.
Not only was Richards able to suit up for his World Cup debut against Paraguay, but he showed out.
According to ESPN Insights and OptaJack, Chris Richards completed all 83 passes he attempted against Paraguay, “the most passes with a 100% accuracy rate by any player in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966.
It was a perfect performance by the entire USMNT, including a brace from Folarin Balogun, also making his World Cup debut, and a highlight-reel trivela by Gio Reyna to rub salt in Paraguay’s wound. I could go down the list and gush about each player’s individual showing — Pulisic! McKennie! Dest! — but the most important takeaway is that the U.S. won its opening match.
According to FOX Sports, every USMNT in history that won its opening World Cup match went on to advance to the knockout stage (1930, 2002, 2014).
The 1930 team lost to Argentina in the semifinal, the 2002 team reached the quarterfinal before falling to Germany, and the 2014 team lost to Belgium in the Round of 16. The USMNT has not advanced beyond the Round of 16 since 2002. Catch up on the USMNT’s full World Cup history here.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. The USMNT won’t win Group D with 3 points. The Americans can build a cushion atop the group if they can beat Australia at Lumen Field in Seattle on June 19.
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