US soccer team to play Germany without Chris Richards

The United States men’s national soccer team will play its final pre-World Cup friendly against Germany in Chicago on Saturday without starting defender Chris Richards, whose status for the tournament remains uncertain due to an ankle injury. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed Richards will miss the match as the team makes its final preparations before opening the World Cup next Friday against Paraguay in Los Angeles.

Richards, a key center-back, has not played since suffering the injury in Crystal Palace’s Premier League match against Brentford on May 17. He was an unused substitute for Palace’s UEFA Conference League final on May 27 and missed the U.S. team’s 3-2 friendly win over Senegal last weekend. Pochettino expressed frustration over the evolving timeline of Richards’ recovery, suggesting the initial information he received indicated the player could have been available for those matches.

“When we decided on the squad list, we thought Chris might play in the Conference League final,” Pochettino said. “Based on the information we had, we believed he could play that final and he was actually on the bench for it and perhaps even be available against Senegal. In the...