U.S. men’s national team defender Chris Richards admitted that he was ready to fight his Australian opponents during a physical friendly match on Tuesday evening which counted Christian Pulisic as one major casualty.
The USMNT figurehead limped off inside the openly half-hour after finding himself on the end of some rugged challenges at the Sports Illustrated Stadium. There were 26 fouls whistled by Trinidad & Tobago official Kwinsi Williams but Richards argued that several more should have been flagged.
“They’re lucky it was a friendly. I was ready to go,” Richards seethed postgame. “And if [the referee] didn’t give me a s— yellow in the corner, I probably would’ve killed somebody.”
Wound up even tighter after falling behind to a 19th-minute opener from Jordan Bos, Richards and his colleagues managed to keep their cool to stage an impressive comeback. Coventry City forward Haji Wright hauled the hosts level barely five minutes after Pulisic departed before nabbing a decisive second following the halftime interval.
Some positivity is beginning to be fostered around the co-hosts, but concerns over the severity of Pulisic’s injury have undoubtedly tainted the win.
