Pierre Sage has a tricky task on his hands this summer to get his tactical ideas across, with so many Crystal Palace players still at the World Cup.
As we enter the Round of 16 stage, Daniel Munoz, Jefferson Lerma, Chadi Riad, Maxence Lacroix, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Dean Henderson, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Yeremy Pino, Chris Richards and Owen Goodman are still involved in the competition.
Daichi Kamada and Ismaila Sarr are the only Crystal Palace players to have been knocked out so far after Brazil and Belgium defeated Japan and Senegal respectively in the Round of 32.
With global player union FIFPRO securing a mandatory three-week break for footballers in talks with FIFA last summer, Kamada and Sarr are set to return in time for the friendly against Bromley on Saturday 25th July.
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Crystal Palace players entitled to three-week holiday once World Cup involvement is over
For those still involved in the World Cup – which entitles the Eagles to some compensation – they will be expected to link up with Sage back at Crystal Palace exactly three weeks after they are knocked out of the tournament.
However, that mandatory three-week rest period secured by FIFPRO last summer is not set in stone, and players can choose to return to the club for pre-season sooner if they want to do so.
With Kamada and Sarr exiting the World Cup on Monday 29th June and Wednesday 1st July respectively, they should be back at Crystal Palace in time to play some part of the aforementioned friendly against Bromley.
Crystal Palace’s 2026/27 pre-season schedule
- Saturday 18th July: Crystal Palace v Swindon Town (12:30 BST)
- Saturday 25th July: Bromley v Crystal Palace (15:00 BST)
- Tuesday 28th July – Saturday, 1 August: Como Cup:
- Tuesday 28th July: Crystal Palace v RC Lens (18:00 BST) – 45-minute match
- Tuesday 28th July: Crystal Palace v FC Famalicao (19:30 BST) – 45-minute match
- Either Friday 31st July (17:00 or 19:45 BST) or Saturday, 1st August (19:00 BST): Palace v TBC – 90-minute match
- Saturday 15th August: SC Freiburg v Crystal Palace (13:00 BST)
Sage’s first match in charge – a friendly against Swindon Town on Saturday 18th July – is highly likely to be missed by Munoz, Lerma, Riad, Lacroix, Mateta, Henderson, Strand Larsen, Pino, Richards and Goodman given the fact they are all still at the World Cup.
It means the likes of Romain Esse – who is already working hard – Matheus Franca and other fringe players should get the chance to impress the Frenchman while our biggest stars are away.
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