The footballer who plays two matches on two continents in 48 hours

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The footballer who plays two matches on two continents in 48 hours

Chris Richards has become the personification of the cutthroat calendar of modern football. The 21-year-old defender completes two official matches on two different continents in 48 hours.

On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, Richards played for ninety minutes with the United States, which made the World Cup qualifiers. met 2-1 won from Costa Rica.

Where many competitions are not yet played on Friday, this is the case in the Bundesliga. Richards 1899 club Hoffenheim made their debut against 1. FC Köln at 8:30 p.m., less than 48 hours after the final whistle of the United States – Costa Rica game in Columbus, Ohio. Richards started off the bench but came on ten minutes before half-time after Pavel Kaderábek was injured.

“We have to see if everything works. Can you train on Thursday? Can he sleep on the plane? Such questions arise, “Hoffenheim coach Sebastian Hoeness said ahead of the game in a conversation with Kicker. Hoffenheim are hiring Richards for the second consecutive season from Bayern Munich, where he has been used very sporadically.

At the start of the week, Thibaut took Courtois devastating direction UEFA, the organization which, in the eyes of the Belgian goalkeeper, provides a schedule far too busy. Qualification for the World Cup is placed under the auspices of FIFA.