Chris Richards available for USMNT v Portugal as Johnny Cardoso leaves camp | OneFootball

Chris Richards says he is available for the United States against Portugal on Tuesday after knee soreness kept him out of the 5-2 loss to Belgium, while Johnny Cardoso will return to Atlético Madrid with a leg issue.

According to NY Times, Mauricio Pochettino hoped it was nothing serious, though he doubted the Crystal Palace defender would play in either friendly. Richards took a heavy tackle for Palace and, after individual work all week, considers himself ready.

Cardoso arrived carrying a problem, so the plan was 45 minutes on Saturday. After that he felt discomfort again, so the staff shut him down. He trained in the gym on Monday and will not feature on Tuesday.

Richards trained with a wrap below his knee and a bandage behind it. His inclusion would be important for a thin centre-back group, with Tim Ream partnering Mark McKenzie against Belgium.

The 26-year-old, the 2025 US Soccer Male Player of the Year, has been a regular since the last World Cup cycle, although he missed Qatar with a hamstring injury.

On Monday the US worked in a more traditional 4-3-2-1, Tanner Tessmann dropping into the back line in build-up. In the autumn they used a winger wing-back hybrid and an extra defender that created a 3-2-2-3 in possession. Richards’ absence may have narrowed Pochettino’s options against Belgium. He has started 36 games for Palace this season, including all 26 Premier League appearances and seven in the UEFA Conference League.

Source: NY Times