US national football team defender Chris Richards made no mistakes in 83 passes in the team's first match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (2026 FIFA World Cup). As TalkSPORT notes, this 100% pass accuracy rate with such a number of passes was the first recorded at the World Cup since 1966.
Team USA kicked off the 2026 World Cup, which it is one of three host countries along with Mexico and Canada, with a 4-1 win over Paraguay. The match took place at the SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood on Friday, June 12.
26-year-old Richards, who plays club football for English Crystal Palace, played the entire match on the field. Shortly before the 2026 World Cup, he suffered an ankle injury and feared that he would either not be able to play for the national team, as was already the case at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, or would miss at least the first match. He told reporters on Wednesday that his leg was still “a little swollen,” but he felt fine.
“If there is a time for self-sacrifice, it is now,” Richards noted at the time.
83 — Chris Richards completed all 83 passes he attempted for the #USMNT against Paraguay, the most passes with a 100 percent accuracy rate by any player in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966.
Perfection. pic.twitter.com/kTD2kmrrPa
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) June 13, 2026
On the eve of the game, USA coach Mauricio Pochettino assumed that Richards would remain on the bench, but this ultimately did not happen. The Argentine specialist also emphasized that he does not see the need for a motivational speech for the players before the start of the World Cup, despite the friendly matches that have not been very successful for the United States in recent months.
“If you are not ready, then forgive me. They need to play like children, without any pressure and responsibility,” the coach suggested before the game with Paraguay.
Pochettino's approach likely paid off, as Team USA scored four goals in a World Cup match for the first time in its history and won by three at the World Cup for the first time since 1930. As The Athletic notes, fans are already hoping for a championship, and tickets for the US team's next match against Australia on June 19 have risen in price by hundreds of dollars.
