Richards is back and fully fit for the team—can the US back line’s main pillar withstand Paraguay’s counterattack?

The US team’s defensive line has actually always been the biggest cause for concern. Rimane is older, with a slow turning speed; Richards is experienced, but injuries have been coming up again and again. Just recently, Chris Richards finally confirmed that he has recovered from his injury and is available to play against Paraguay—this is absolutely good news for the US team.

Richards currently plays for Crystal Palace in the Premier League, and he is the team’s main starting central defender. His strengths are strong physical duels, excellent aerial ability, and a certain ability to play the ball out. In Pochettino’s system, center-backs need to frequently participate in building up play from the back, and even bring the ball to around the halfway line before switching the play wide. In this regard, Richards is better than Rimane.

However, Richards has only just recovered from injury, and it’s unknown how much his match sharpness can return. Moreover, although Paraguay’s forward line isn’t especially well known, Enciso and Sánabria are both extremely useful players; they won’t give Richards time to adapt, and they will start pressing from the first minute.

Another defensive weak spot for the US team is the flanks. Anthony Robinson has strong attacking support and often pushes forward to join the attack, but the space behind him is the main target for Paraguay’s counterattacks. Almirón is very fast—if Robinson can’t get back in time, Richards will have to cover, and then a gap appears in the middle of the penalty area. Pochettino has already realized this problem; he might arrange Adams to drop back more to protect the flanks, but that would weaken the midfield’s control.

Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was left out of the US squad; the likely starting goalkeeper is Matt Fres. His goal-line technique is fine, but his ability to deal with crosses has never been top-tier. Paraguay’s set-piece tactics are specifically designed to target the goalkeeper’s weaknesses, so Fres needs to be mentally prepared.

In short, although the US team’s back line has a big reputation, it is not unbeatable. Paraguay will definitely try to exploit the point of Richards just returning from injury, and the US must maintain a high level of concentration on defense for 90 minutes. The moment they let their guard down, Paraguay could punish them.

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