Chris Richards embracing "every day is an audition" with USMNT, Crystal Palace to maintain regular role

EXCLUSIVE — It's been a very long road to regular, sustainable football for U.S. defender Chris Richards.

There's always been high hopes for the American — he earned his first USMNT cap in late 2020 at just 20 years old, while still just a Bayern Munich youth product. Yet it's only just the second half of the current season that he's found regular first-team minutes for his parent club.

After two loans to Hoffenheim, Richards still had no way into the Bayern Munich first team, so he was sold to Premier League side Crystal Palace in the summer of 2022. Despite the new beginning, it was more of the same as Richards was stuck behind two excellent defenders, and the narrative refused to relent. Manager Roy Hodgson repeatedly trumpeted the talent Richards bears, and that he was simply unfortunate to be logjammed behind Joachim Anderson and Marc Guehi.

How to buy tickets for USMNT games at the 2024 Copa America this summer

Even as that mantra became tiresome, it never got Richards down. "When you're not playing, it's easy to turn off in training, to...not necessarily not care, but to not give one hundred percent," Richards told The Sporting News in an exclusive conversation while overseas with Crystal Palace.

"Growing up I've always been told that every day is an audition. It's an audition to the coach to be able to trust you to get on the pitch, or showing your teammates you're trustworthy and they can count on you. So every day is a trial."

And when finally afforded an opportunity, even as it was far from the chance he expected, the American grabbed hold of the moment and refused to let go.

"I was very much learning on the fly," Richards said with a chuckle. "We had a player drop out due to injury last second, and Roy called me