USMNT: Richards Shines, Future Questions Linger

AUSTIN, Texas — The first half was a brutal watch for those sitting in the stands at a half-full Q2 Stadium. Battling with a stiflingly humid 96-degree evening, the Saudi Arabia team in their second /gameId/735319″>Sunday’s 5-0 thrashing of Trinidad and Tobago in their tournament opener. “We want to win, but simultaneously occurring it’s to help the players to perform and to knock [on] the door and say, we can perform for the national team and we can be involved in the next World Cup,” stated pochettino after the previous victory, looking fully confident for the upcoming match against Saudi arabia. “That is what I expect. Win, and the players really believe that they are having the chance…[to] fight for a place in the World Cup.” With plenty of starters and key figures missing from this summer’s roster, the narrative was set for an up-and-coming attacking name or fringe option (like a /id/272585/chris-richards”>Chris Richards. Diving into a cross from Sebastian Berhalter off a free kick in the 63rd minute, the Crystal Palace) converted to give the USMNT a 1-0 led they would not let slip, FC Dallas.

Chris Richards scored the winning goal to book the United States into the gold Cup quarterfinals. (Photo by Aric Becker/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

But that’s the good news for the USMNT. The bad news? Pochettino can’t exactly rely on one of his central defenders to save the team in every game. As superb as Richards was on Thursday,the opposite could be said of most of the rest of the XI that still has much to prove in this Gold Cup. Going back to what Pochettino had said earlier,the hope was to not only succeed in the international competition,but to also find more roster depth for the World Cup that begins in 12 months. In a summer that’s missing marquee headliners like /id/256715/weston-mckennie”>Weston mckennie,/id/290230/giovanni-reyna”>Giovanni Reyna, /id/307527/yunus-musah”>Yunus and Canada and Mexico Pochettino and the rest of Richards’ teammates can’t afford to be as predictable and lethargic as they were on Thursday. They’ll have one last tune-up with a group stage closer against Haiti on Sunday, but after that, the true fiery tests will emerge that far exceed the sweltering conditions in Austin. But at the very least,against Saudi Arabia in a result that has avoided an early Gold Cup catastrophe,fans of the USMNT can rest easy knowing that Richards was able to safely put out the fire.