Crystal Palace World Cup Player Report

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Hooligan Soccer

·28 July 2026

Crystal Palace World Cup Player Report

I’ll admit to having a little bit of a World Cup hangover the past week. But the sun continues to rise in the east, and sure enough we all must move on. Now I’m back to looking over my favorite Premier League side, Crystal Palace, and figure I’ll throw in my grades on the lads who took part in the summer’s biggest tournament.

As a reminder, twelve Crystal Palace players received call-ups for their country for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. While that was seven fewer than Manchester City, and four fewer than Arsenal, it’s still a high number. In fact, it equalled that of Atlético Madrid, Manchester United and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, and was one more than Liverpool, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund. Not bad company. Now, let’s see how they performed, listed in the order their respective nations finished in the tournament.

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Yéremy Pino (Spain) C

Yes, Crystal Palace can now boast a World Cup winner among its roster. But let’s not overstate Yéremy Pino’s contributions. He appeared in two games off the bench. In the final group stage against Uruguay he fell awkwardly and injured his shoulder. Showing some grit, he played on until the final whistle (Spain had used all its substitutes), but didn’t get onto the pitch for the rest of the tournament. The diagnosis was ligament strain, thankfully not a broken collarbone.

Dean Henderson (England) B+

Dean “The Machine” Henderson never stood a realistic chance of supplanting Jordan Pickford as England’s starter. That is, until the late loss against Argentina in the quarterfinal. Whether Tuchel was punishing Pickford, or simply giving a talented back-up a break, the German selected Henderson for the bronze medal match against France. And despite the four goals conceded, Henderson provided his worth and will give Tuchel some food for thought as he preps for Euros 2028 qualifying.

Jean-Philippe Mateta & Maxence Lacroix (France) n/a & C

As shocking as it was that these two got call-ups, it was just as surprising that they got minutes. Putting a grade on Mateta just isn’t fair; he only played 22 minutes and barely got any shots off. Lacroix, on the other hand, played 240 minutes over three games with two starts. And for most of those minutes, he was solid. In his first start against Norway he performed admirably, but wasn’t facing the viking’s a-team. Forced into action after 30 minutes against Spain, Lacroix impressed, even if France eventually stumbled and lost. Honestly, his first half against England was the stuff of nightmares. A better second half effort partially made up for it, but it’s still bringing his grade down. Sadly, Chelsea saw past the bad and are currently luring him to Stanford Bridge for around $69M.

Chadi Riad (Morocco) B

Just seeing Riad play after his nightmarish sixteen months battling injury had to swell Palace supporter’s hearts. He started four straight matches for the Atlas Lions, getting an assist in the Haiti game. He was looking to be heading for a fourth full-time match when he suffered a knock in the Round of 32 tie with the Netherlands. He wouldn’t play again, though reports are that his injury wasn’t serious. It was to the same knee he’d just recuperated, however.

Jørgen Strand Larsen (Norway) F

Living in the shadow of Erling Haaland is tough enough. But Strand Larsen didn’t do himself any favors by missing a penalty kick against France. Three minutes into the second half, Oscar Bobb was tripped in the box. Up stepped Strand Larsen, who stutter-stepped his run up and hit a soft shot that Mike Maignan saved easily. A sad cameo in extra time against England also happened, but he had zero impact.

Daniel Muñoz & Jefferson Lerma (Colombia) A- & C

Both players were critical starters for Los Cafeteros. Lerma started all fine games and logged 412 minutes of solid if uninspiring work. Muñoz went the distance in four starts, including the extra-time Round of 16 match against Switzerland. He did not take a penalty kick in that one, though perhaps he should have. He opened Colombia’s scoring account against Uzbekistan, and got the game winner over DR Congo.

Chris Richards (United States) B

His ligament injury was healed before the Paraguay game, and Richards went on to start 4 of 5 USMNT matches. He sat out the loss to Türkiye due to an earlier yellow card. But when on the field, he exhibited the calm, composure and cocksure ability that was on magnificent display the entire Eagles’ season. We won’t speak of the Belgian game.

Owen Goodman (Canada) n/a

As the third string behind Dayne St. Clair and Maxime Crépeau, we knew Owen Goodman would never see playing time. But a World Cup call-up is more than many get. What’s next for the 22 year old? A loan spell with Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

Ismaïla Sarr (Forward) Senegal A

Simply magnificent. Ismaïla Sarr started all four games, logging 366 minutes. In that time he scored a brace against Norway, got a goal and an assist in the 5-0 rout over Iraq, and gave his nation hope with the second goal over Belgium in the Round of 32 before a late collapse forced extra time and a last-second loss. He’s clearly replaced Sadio Mané as Senegal’s most important player, and will be expected to lead them into the 2030 World Cup. But first, let’s channel his energy into the 2026/27 Premier League season and Europa League campaign!

Daichi Kamada (Japan) B+

So, so good. Kamada started every game, going the distance on two of them. He scored twice, including the late equalizer in a taut game against the Netherlands. He played both offensive and defensive midfield, registering 241 touches in 332 minutes.