Chris Richards may be close to a locked-in starter at center back on the U.S. men's national team, but Alexi Lalas said he remains unconvinced by the Crystal Palace defender.
Richards is in the midst of a strong run at Palace, having started 12 consecutive matches across all competitions for the Premier League side.
That will be a major boost for the USMNT, which is looking for its fourth straight Concacaf Nations League title later this month.
The USMNT will face Panama on March 20 in the semifinal at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The winner will face the winner of Mexico-Canada in the final at the same venue on March 23.
Despite Richards' solid run in England, former USMNT defender Lalas said he still wants to see more from the 24-year-old.
“I’m flummoxed by Chris Richards because as we know, the U.S. men’s national team needs a consistent and quality center-back pairing," Lalas said on his "State of the Union" podcast. "And it’s a rotating type of cast and at one point, Chris Richards was the future. And yet when I watch him, I want him to do well and he, over the years, has yet to really really solidify in my mind that he deserves that spot.
“And he will have good games and OK games. He will have good moments in games and then head-scratching types of moments, and so that consistency is ultimately what I’m looking for here. But so far, this is a really good run for him and I’m not saying everything that he has done has been good because sometimes, I’m left scratching my head with some of the defending. For a U.S. team at a certain point, in order to beat the elites, you’re going to have to defend and you’re going to have to defend against the best in the world.
“And I’m still not sold. I’m still not sold on Chris Richards. But if this is as good as it gets when it comes to Chris Richards, I still don’t think that that is good enough. But I hold out hope that he continues to progress and that maybe, whether through this summer and obviously in 2026, he can get to that point where if this is as good as it gets, then it actually is good enough.”
Richards and Mark McKenzie look to be the most likely starters at center back for the USMNT in the Nations League, with the likes of Tim Ream, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman in the mix.