USMNT's Chris Richards in European final, will miss start of U.S. World Cup prep

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.

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.

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.