US defender Richards sets World Cup passing accuracy record

The United States men's national team opened their home World Cup campaign with a convincing 4-1 (3-0) victory over Paraguay on Friday in California. Center-back Chris Richards did not score but made history with his passing.

Richards attempted 83 passes during the match and completed every single one, setting a new record for the most passes with a 100% accuracy rate in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966, according to statistics tracked by Sofascore.

Previous records

The previous record holder was England defender John Stones, who completed 71 of 71 passes in the 2022 tournament. Other players with perfect accuracy include Spain's Juan Miranda (59 out of 59) and Romania's Gheorghe Popescu (54 out of 54).

Group F and upcoming matches

Group F also includes Australia and Turkey. The United States will face Australia on June 19 and Turkey on June 26. The group stage ends on June 27, followed by the knockout rounds. Semifinals are scheduled for July 14 and 15, the third-place match on July 18, and the final on July 19.

This is the first World Cup featuring 48 teams, co-hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The defending champions are Argentina, who beat France on penalties in the 2022 final.