Hoover native Chris Richards shines in USA’s World Cup win
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Hoover native Chris Richards got his third start of the 2026 Men’s World Cup on Wednesday night in Santa Clara, helping the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) to a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Richards played all 90 minutes and helped secure the team’s second clean sheet of the tournament despite being down to 10 men in the final 30 minutes of the match.
With the win, the U.S. advances to the Round of 16 where it will play Belgium in Seattle on Monday night at 7PM central time.
Keep reading to learn more about Richards’ performance + what comes next for the team.
Chris Richards makes history in World Cup debut
Richards’ best game was in his World Cup debut where he completed 80 of 80 pass attempts (officially adjusted by FIFA).
Over the course of three appearances so far, Richards’ stats include:
- 215 passes completed
- 21 clearances
- 13 aerial duels won
- 4 blocked shots
According to FIFA stats, Richards covered more than 30 kilometers (18 miles) across his three games. He hit a top speed of 19 miles per hour.
Wednesday night’s game marked the first time the U.S. men’s team has recorded multiple clean sheets at a World Cup since 1930.
Richards has established himself as a permanent starter in the U.S. defense and is expected to start again against Belgium.
USMNT at the World Cup
The United States men’s national team has won a knockout round match for the first time since 2002. However, since this is an expanded tournament, they still need one more win to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since that 2002 tournament.
Things will only become more difficult from here as next up is the familiar foe of Belgium, the team that knocked the US out of the tournament in 2014.
The game is scheduled for a 7PM central time kickoff in Seattle on Monday, July 6. The winner will move on to the quarterfinals in Los Angeles on July 10.
