Several Crystal Palace players were in action at the 2026 FIFA World Cup this week as there was good and bad news for Pierre Sage.
Remarkably, all 12 Crystal Palace players involved in the tournament have progressed into the Round of 32 – which is set to increase the payments Steve Parish is owed from FIFA in compensation.
However, there was a setback for Pierre Sage along the way.
Initial thoughts on Pierre Sage? 🤔
He can boast a 67.5% win ratio from 40 games at RC Lens 😍
Yeremy Pino may have broken his collarbone
Sage might be without Pino for our upcoming pre-season friendlies, after the Crystal Palace No.10 suffered what appeared to be a broken collarbone as Spain recorded a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Saturday morning.
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente said: “Pino (could) miss the rest of the World Cup. It is a collarbone injury. We will do more scans tomorrow. He was suffering a lot, it was heroic that he helped us until the end of the game.”
After a mixed debut campaign as a Crystal Palace player, this upcoming pre-season carries huge significance for Pino, so we hope he recovers in time to play some part under Sage in the build up to the 2026/27 campaign.
Ismaila Sarr makes World Cup history
In better news, Sarr has etched his name into the history of Senegalese football. The Crystal Palace No.7 scored and provided an assist as Senegal hammered Iraq 5-0 and progressed into the Round of 32.
OptaJoe revealed after the match that Sarr is the first and only player to score and assist for Senegal in a single match at the World Cup – while he is also now the outright top scorer for his nation at a World Cup with four goals.
Daichi Kamada and Daniel Munoz also amongst the goals
Daichi Kamada and Daniel Munoz both played key roles for Japan and Colombia respectively, scoring two goals each in the group stage so far to help their nations advance into the Round of 32.
Jefferson Lerma has also played 90 minutes in both of Colombia’s games, showing his combative style and industrial nature to help grind out two wins from two.
With Sarr on four goals, while Kamada and Munoz can boast two each, only Real Madrid have netted more than Crystal Palace’s tally of eight World Cup goals so far with ten.
Chris Richards and Chadi Riad starring at the back
These two have flown under the radar.
Chris Richards and Chadi Riad have arguably been two of the best defenders at the World Cup so far, helping the United States and Morocco advance with flying colours.
Riad played 90 minutes in all three group stage games as Morocco picked up seven points, and even recorded an assist in the 4-2 win over Haiti.
Richards played 90 minutes in the USA’s first two games, helping the hosts to a 4-1 win over Paraguay and a 2-0 victory over Australia, even setting a record for passing in that first match.
Setback for Jorgen Strand Larsen but Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maxence Lacroix make World Cup debuts
Jorgen Strand Larsen went directly up against Maxence Lacroix – who could leave for Chelsea – as France hammered Norway by a 4-1 scoreline on Friday.
Strand Larsen missed a penalty with a weak effort, only featuring in the match as Norway opted to rest Erling Haaland having already qualified.
While that was disappointing, it was nice to see Lacroix and Mateta make their World Cup debuts for France, a side many consider the favourites to win the tournament after a fantastic start to the competition.
How much is Maxence Lacroix worth? 🤔
The Frenchman still has three years left on his contract 📝
