For Crystal Palace ’s international players, this was a successful summer, but it was also one they may look back on with a tinge of disappointment. Four players — Dean Henderson , Marc Guehi , Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze — were runners-up at Euro 2024 with England . A further two — Daniel Munoz and Jefferson Lerma — were losing finalists at Copa America with Colombia.
Jean-Philippe Mateta experienced an extra-time defeat in the final of the 2024 Olympic men’s football final with France . Chris Richards , meanwhile, was in the USMNT side that failed to progress from the group stage of Copa America on home turf. Advertisement Their achievements in reaching the final of their respective tournaments should be acknowledged and appreciated.
Henderson and Wharton may not have had any direct involvement via minutes on the pitch, but they were in the England camp, around those who were playing and away from home for the tournament’s duration soon after the end of the domestic season. All of that is likely to have taken some toll on them physically and psychologically. It was not until the week before the season-opener against Brentford that manager Oliver Glasner had all of his squad available, meaning the majority of their season preparation was conducted without those key players.
Now they have returned, the impact of their relative lack of rest combined with the emotion of falling just short of tournament glory means it may take time for all of those Palace players.