June friendlies round-up: Minutes for 12 different Eagles; two goals for Strand Larsen

Club

10 Jun 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just about here – with Crystal Palace having a huge 15 players called up by their respective nations for friendlies this month, with 12 of them set to be involved in the Finals!

Ahead of the 23rd iteration of the world’s biggest international football tournament, which this year will be held across Canada, Mexico and the United States, a number of Eagles are expected to be in action in pre-World Cup warm-up friendlies.

The 12 players called up for Palace in the World Cup this season (13, if you include loanee Evann Guessand) smashes the previous club record (three call-ups in 2022) out of the water. It is the third-highest total from a Premier League club (after Manchester City’s 19 and Arsenal’s 16).

Indeed, only five other club sides in Europe – the Premier League’s top two, plus Bayern Munich (18), Paris Saint-Germain (16) and Barcelona (15) – will boast more.

Ahead of the World Cup Finals, however, 12 different Eagles were in friendly action – so find out how they got on below!

How are our players getting on?

Fresh from winning Palace’s Goal of the Season award, Jørgen Strand Larsen was first to feature – and duly showed his sharpness by scoring twice in a 3-1 friendly win over Sweden last week.

Just five days after helping the Eagles win the Conference League in Leipzig, the Palace striker played the first 65 minutes at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, and opened the scoring after nine minutes with the slightest of headers from Julian Ryerson’s cross-shot, before powering home from a corner shortly before half-time.

Later on the same evening, Daniel Muñoz featured off the bench for the final few minutes of Colombia's 3-1 friendly win over Costa Rica at Estadio El Campín in Bogotá – with Jefferson Lerma an unused substitute.

And Owen Goodman was an unused substitute for Canada in their 2-0 win over Uzbekistan at Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton.

Then on Tuesday (2nd), Chadi Riad won his fifth cap for Morocco as they continued their build-up for the finals. They earned a comfortable 4-0 win over fellow African nation Madagascar.

Riad came off the bench at half-time and completed the second 45 minutes for the AFCON champions picking up a yellow card in the 61st minute.

Whilst in Cardiff, Brennan Johnson was an unused substitute for Wales as they drew 1-1 with Ghana, in what was the first meeting between the sides.

On Thursday (4th), Yéremy Pino made his first appearance of the international window. The Palace winger was introduced at half-time in Spain's friendly with Iraq. La Roja had to settle for a 1-1 draw, with Pino completing the second 45 minutes.

France were also in action, going down 2-1 to Ivory Coast in Nantes. Jean-Philippe Mateta won his fourth cap for Les Bleus, replacing captain Kylian Mbappé at half-time.

Maxence Lacroix was an unused substitute for the 2018 World Cup winners.

For the Elephants, Evann Guessand was an unused substitute meaning he did not directly face his Palace teammate on this occasion.

And elsewhere, Justin Devenny was back in action for Northern Ireland. Starting at wing-back, Devenny completed 81 minutes of their narrow friendly win over Guinea before he was substituted.

On Saturday (6th), Johnson returned to action for Wales as Craig Bellamy's side faced Romania in a friendly. Sadly, the Dragons endured a difficult day losing 2-1.

Johnson went close to scoring early on and would eventually complete 71 minutes before he was withdrawn.

Elsewhere, it was a quiet day for Palace players on the international front. Dean Henderson remained on the bench for England as the Three Lions won their penultimate World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand, 1-0, in Florida.

They return to action on Wednesday for a friendly against Costa Rica.

And it was a similar story for Canada's Goodman in a 1-1 draw with Ireland, who remained an unused substitute for his side.

Defender Chris Richards did not feature for the USA in their 2-1 defeat against Germany as he continues his recovery from injury.

On Sunday evening, Riad and Strand Larsen were both back in action as Morocco faced Norway at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey – and although both players featured, they did not cross paths on the pitch on the night.

Riad started for Morocco for the second game in a row, and played the first hour, as The Atlas Lions took a one-goal lead through Brahim Díaz's opener on eight minutes, a powerful right-footed shot from inside the box.

The Palace defender kept an in-form Norway side at bay until the hour mark, when he was replaced – and Strand Larsen duly entered the fray on 72 minutes off the bench for Erling Haaland.

Three minutes later, Norway equalised, as Martin Odegaard swept home after being teed up by Fulham winger Oscar Bobb – and that was how the scores finished.

01 / 02

For Colombia at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, Muñoz and Lerma both started in a 2-0 win against Jordan, playing the first 45 and 64 minutes respectively.

The match was settled by a brace from Jhon Arias either side of half-time, with Jordan reduced to 10 men late in stoppage time.

On Monday evening, the Eagles went head-to-head once more on international duty, as Devenny's Northern Ireland went up against with Lacroix and Mateta as France faced Northern Ireland in Lille.

Devenny was the only one of the three players to start – his 14th cap, and 13th start in his country's last 14 matches – as he was deployed at left wing-back – up against a challenging foe in former Palace winger, and current Bayern Munich superstar, Michael Olise.

Michael O'Neill's young side, who began with an average age of 22.6, did well to frustrate their hosts however until moments before half-time, when the ball fell kindly for Olise to place home his first of the evening.

Lacroix then came off the bench for the second-half to face his Palace teammate, but it duly became the Olise show – his second arriving on 49 minutes with a thunderous finish inside the box, following another fortuitous drop of the ball.

Devenny did help Northern Ireland deservedly pull a goal back with a pre-assist – a ball through for Shea Charles, who then squared for Patrick Kelly to tap home – but with 74 minutes on the clock, Olise bent in a sensational third to seal the 3-1 win and sent favourites France to the World Cup in style.

Lacroix, having helped Les Bleus defend their lead, embraced Devenny at full-time, with Mateta remaining among France's substitutes on the night.

And in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Pino came off the bench at half-time for Spain, who were two goals to the good against Peru at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico.

The Palace winger staked a claim to be on the scoresheet just eight minutes later, as his looping cross-shot was palmed into his own net by Pedro Gallese – the effort officially credited as an own-goal by the Peru 'keeper.

Pino was heavily involved in a dominant second-half for one of the pre-tournament favourites, as La Roja emerged 3-1 victors.

After missing Senegal's first warm-up game, Ismaïla Sarr was back in the squad for their game against Saudi Arabia.

The game ultimately ended goalless, but Sarr did get his first minutes in the tank since the UEFA Conference League Final.

Introduced off the bench in the 61st minute, the wide forward put in a lively cameo as he builds towards Senegal's first World Cup Finals game against France next Tuesday (20:00 BST).

Last to play a pre-World Cup friendly was Palace skipper Henderson, who played the final 30 minutes of England's tournament-eve 3-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in Orlando, Florida.

The shot-stopper won his fifth cap – and third clean sheet – for the Three Lions in the contest, and admittedly was rarely tested in a dominant win for his side after appearing off the bench for the final half-an-hour.

Next up for England and Henderson: Croatia in Kansas next Wednesday, as their quest for glory kicks off.

Keep checking this page for updates on how each player performs ahead of the 2026 World Cup Finals!

Pre-World Cup friendlies

All times in UK time (BST).

Canada (Owen Goodman)

Tue, 2nd Jun (02:00): Canada 2-0 Uzbekistan (Goodman was an unused substitute)
Sat, 6th Jun (00:30): Canada 1-1 Republic of Ireland (Goodman was an unused substitute)

Colombia (Daniel Muñoz & Jefferson Lerma)

Tue, 2nd Jun (00:00): Colombia 3-1 Costa Rica (Muñoz played the final few minutes off the bench, whilst Lerma was an unused substitute)
Mon, 8th Jun (00:00): Colombia 2-0 Jordan (Muñoz and Lerma played 45 and 64 minutes respectively in California)

England (Dean Henderson)

Sat, 6th Jun (21:00): England 1-0 New Zealand (Henderson did not feature off the bench in Tampa, Florida)
Wed, 10th Jun (22:00): England 3-0 Costa Rica (The Palace captain played the final half-an-hour, keeping his third clean sheet in five England appearances)

France (Maxence Lacroix & Jean-Philippe Mateta)

Thu, 4th Jun (20:10): France 1-2 Ivory Coast (Mateta won his fourth cap with a half-time substitute appearance)
Mon, 8th Jun (20:10): France 3-1 Northern Ireland (Lacroix played the second-half of the 3-1 win in Lille off the bench)

Ivory Coast (Evann Guessand)

Thu, 4th Jun (20:10): France 1-2 Ivory Coast (Guessand didn't feature in Ivory Coast's win in Nantes and remained an unused substitute)

Japan (Daichi Kamada)

Sun, 31st May (11:25): Japan 1-0 Iceland (Kamada did not feature after his involvement in the recent Conference League Final with Palace)

Morocco (Chadi Riad)

Tue, 2nd Jun (18:00): Morocco 4-0 Madagascar (Riad played the second-half in a comfortable win for his Morocco side in Rabat)
Sun, 7th Jun (20:00): Morocco 1-1 Norway (Riad kept a clean sheet in his time on the pitch, featuring for the first 64 minutes in Harrison, New Jersey)

Norway (Jørgen Strand Larsen)

Mon, 1st Jun (18:00): Norway 3-1 Sweden (Strand Larsen scored a brace of first-half headers before half-time at Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo)
Sun, 7th Jun (20:00): Morocco 1-1 Norway (Strand Larsen came off the bench on 72 minutes and helped his side grab a late equaliser)

Northern Ireland (Justin Devenny)

Northern Ireland did not qualify, but still played a pair of friendlies this international window.

Thu, 4th Jun (17:00): Northern Ireland 1-0 Guinea (Devenny played 81 minutes of the friendly in Spain)
Mon, 8th Jun (20:10): France 3-1 Northern Ireland (Devenny played the full 90 minutes in Lille, coming up against club teammate Lacroix)

Senegal (Ismaïla Sarr)

Sun, 31st May (20:30): United States 3-2 Senegal (Sarr did not feature after his involvement in the recent Conference League Final with Palace)
Wed, 10th Jun (00:00) Senegal 0-0 Saudi Arabia (Sarr was introduced off the bench in the 61st minute)

Spain (Yéremy Pino)

Thu, 4th Jun (20:00): Spain 1-1 Iraq (Pino appeared from the bench for the second-half as Spain were held to a 1-1 draw)
Tue, 9th Jun (03:00): Spain 3-1 Peru (Pino came off the bench at half-time and saw an immediate effort deflect off the Peruvian 'keeper, officially credit as an own-goal)

United States (Chris Richards)

Sun, 31st May (20:30): United States 3-2 Senegal (Richards did not feature in Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s impressive win due to injury)
Sat, 6th Jun (19:30): United States 1-2 Germany (Richards once again did not feature)

Wales (Brennan Johnson)

N.B. Wales did not qualify, but still played a pair of friendlies this international window.

Tue, 2nd Jun (19:45): Wales 1-1 Ghana (Johnson was an unused substitute for Wales in Cardiff)
Sat, 6th Jun (18:45): Romania 2-1 Wales (Johnson won his 45th cap in the starting line-up and was substituted in the 71st minute)

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