Fowl Play: Chris Richards' Lucky Rubber Chicken Joins USA On World Cup Tour

SEATTLE STADIUM — Mexico and Scotland have their ducks, but the USA has its chicken, thanks to Chris Richards.

Paxo, a rubber chicken, made an appearance at the World Cup on Friday in Seattle with Richards’ parents, Ken and Carrie. Paxo found his way to Richards after he picked the chicken up on the field after Crystal Palace won the UEFA Conference League last month in Leipzig, Germany.

Richards told me after the USA's 2-0 win over Australia on Friday that Paxo is now joining the World Cup ride.  

"I just kind of ran with it and had a few pictures with it in the Conference League trophy," a laughing Richards said. "And so now it's kind of making the U.S. tour as well, right?"

This isn’t the first time an animal has emerged as an avian mascot for a team at the World Cup, although the other two birds were real. Mexico has embraced Merlin, while Scotland fans also adopted their own duck (named Dawn) while marching through Providence, Rhode Island.

Chris Richards found Paxo after the UEFA Conference League Final in May. (Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)

Has Richards' USA teammates seen the chicken yet? When I asked defender Auston Trusty about it after one of the most famous wins in the American men’s team’s 113-year history, he looked perplexed, "A chicken?" he said. "That's the first I've heard of it."

Richards laughed again when asked if he'd make an introduction at some point. "Not yet," he said. "We'll see."

Chris Richards posing with the UEFA Conference League Trophy, along with Paxo the chicken. (Photo by Boris Streubel - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Richards didn’t play in that UEFA Conference League final as he recovered from the ankle injury he suffered on May 17 in a Premier League game against Brentford. He missed