United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino has expressed open frustration over the fitness situation surrounding first-choice centre-back, Chris Richards, admitting that the Crystal Palace defender’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup remains uncertain just days before the co-hosts’ opening match.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Pochettino confirmed that Richards would miss the USMNT’s final pre-tournament friendly against Germany in Chicago on Saturday, making it a second consecutive warm-up match the defender has been forced to sit out.

Richards was similarly absent from the Americans’ preparatory win over Senegal last weekend, and has not featured in a competitive fixture since Crystal Palace’s Premier League clash with Brentford on May 17, in which he suffered a torn ankle ligament injury before playing out the remainder of the match.

The 26-year-old was an unused substitute during Crystal Palace’s Europa Conference League final victory over Rayo Vallecano on May 27, raising hopes within the American camp that he might be close to returning. However, those expectations have not been met, and Pochettino made no effort to disguise his irritation at the way the situation has unfolded. “When we decided on our final roster, we thought that Chris would be able to play in the Conference League final. After that, we thought he would be able to play versus Senegal. And then today, the information we got was that his injury would take even more time,” the Argentine said. “I got a little annoyed and I am not happy, because Chris Richards is an important player, and we all know that.”

Pochettino went further to suggest he may have made a different selection decision had he been given a more accurate picture of the defender’s condition at the time of squad announcement. “In the end, the timelines dragged on a bit. It makes me a bit angry I’m not happy about it because we know Richards is an important player. But regarding the information we were working with sometimes there’s a lack of clarity,” he said. The coach also revealed he had been seeking constant updates from his trusted assistant Jesús Pérez, describing how he asked about Richards’ status “100 times” over the past two days, only to be repeatedly told to wait.

Richards, who has earned 36 caps for the United States, was widely expected to partner captain Tim Ream at the heart of defence throughout the tournament. In his absence, Mark McKenzie has stepped into the starting lineup. Under FIFA regulations, Pochettino still has the option to replace Richards or any other injured player in the squad up to 24 hours before the United States’ World Cup opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on June 12. A final decision on Richards’ tournament fate is expected to be made in the coming days following further assessment of the ankle.