SouthernWorldwide.com – While Mexico and Scotland have their symbolic waterfowl mascots, the United States has embraced a rubber chicken named Paxo, thanks to defender Chris Richards.
Paxo made a notable appearance at the World Cup in Seattle, accompanied by Richards’ parents, Ken and Carrie. The rubber chicken’s journey to Richards began after he found it on the field following Crystal Palace’s UEFA Conference League victory last month in Leipzig, Germany.
Richards confirmed that Paxo is now an integral part of the US team’s World Cup experience. He shared his amusement at how the chicken has become a fixture.
“I just kind of ran with it and had a few pictures with it in the Conference League trophy,” a laughing Richards recounted. “And so now it’s kind of making the U.S. tour as well, right?”
This isn’t the first instance of an animal-like mascot gracing the World Cup stage, though previous mascots were real creatures. Mexico has adopted a bird named Merlin, and Scottish fans rallied behind their own duck, named Dawn, during their procession through Providence, Rhode Island.
When asked if his US teammates were aware of Paxo’s presence, defender Auston Trusty appeared perplexed. “A chicken?” he questioned. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
Richards chuckled when queried about introducing Paxo to the team. “Not yet,” he replied. “We’ll see.”
Richards was sidelined for the UEFA Conference League final due to an ankle injury sustained on May 17 in a Premier League match. This injury caused him to miss Crystal Palace’s final league game and the US national team’s pre-World Cup friendlies against Senegal and Germany. He has since returned to the lineup for the tournament opener against Paraguay.
“I was pretty devastated. I feared the worst,” Richards admitted, recalling his arrival at the US training base in Southern California a few weeks prior. He had previously missed the 2022 World Cup due to injury.
Now, he celebrates two World Cup victories in two games, with Paxo by his side on US soil.
Richards is also performing exceptionally well on the field, anchoring a US defense that ended a ten-game streak without a clean sheet with a shutout against Australia. Following a historic performance where he completed all 83 of his passes against Paraguay, he maintained an impressive 91-of-95 passing accuracy against Australia.
His overall World Cup passing accuracy stands at an remarkable 97.8% (175-of-179). This places him second only to Romania’s Gheorghe Popescu, who achieved 122 completions from 124 attempts over two matches in 1994, according to OPTA statistics since 1966 for players with at least 100 passes attempted.
Richards and the rest of the US defensive unit are undoubtedly pleased with their recent clean sheets.
“One clean sheet sounds great,” goalkeeper Matt Freese commented. “Two, three, four clean sheets sounds a lot better.”
Richards’ journey to the World Cup has been a remarkable ascent, taking him from his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, to football giants Bayern Munich and Crystal Palace. Notably, he was initially overlooked by MLS club FC Dallas at the age of 16, though he joined their academy the following year. After just one season there, he moved to Bayern, where he made his professional debut. His international career with the US began in November 2020, and he has since earned 38 caps for his country.
He is now considered the indispensable leader of the US backline, which clearly performs at its peak when he is on the field.
“He has a presence on the field,” remarked USA teammate and fellow defender Mark McKenzie. Veteran winger Tim Weah echoed this sentiment, calling Richards “one of the most important players on the team.”
