Selhurst Park isn’t just a Premier League football ground, but the heart of a vibrant and diverse community, stretching back a century since Palace’s arrival in 1924. Find out more about the incredible history of Selhurst Park.

100 Years of Selhurst Park

## World Cup winner

> Having made more than 100 appearances for Crystal Palace and now a regular captain of the side, Marc Guéhi has matured well beyond his years since moving to south London.

He joined Palace in summer 2021, signing a five-year contract with the club, and committing his services until summer 2026.

Guéhi was born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and moved to England aged one. He spent much of his early years in Lewisham and began his youth career with Bromley-based Cray Wanderers.

It didn’t take long for Guéhi to attract attention and, aged just seven, he was scouted by Chelsea.

Progressing over the following decade with the Blues, Guéhi did enough to stay at the club year on year and reaped the rewards with an immensely successful peer group.

Winning the treble with the Blues’ Under-18s in 2016/17, Guéhi signed his first professional contract in September 2017 and went on to help Chelsea scoop the quadruple – including the FA Youth Cup and league – that same season.

Guéhi’s Academy team helped to reinforce Chelsea’s image as one of the fiercest youth sides in England, as the centre-back played alongside the likes of Reece James, Tariq Lamptey, Billy Gilmour, Conor Gallagher and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

But it wasn’t just at club level where Guéhi enjoyed success with a noteworthy youth team, as the teenager won the Under-17 World Cup with England in 2017. Indeed, Guéhi captained the Young Lions to the U17 European Championship final that same year and scored in the World Cup final just months later.

These performances ensured Guéhi was rewarded with a taste of first-team football, and he began to be named in Chelsea squads in spring 2019 – being a senior substitute on four occasions in 18/19.

His breakthrough came in the League Cup against Grimsby Town as the Blues stormed to a 7-1 victory with Guéhi in the backline. He again earned professional minutes for Chelsea in a fourth-round defeat against Manchester United, and secured a loan move to Swansea City shortly after.

Guéhi fought to secure his place over a half-season with the Swans that was disrupted by the league’s suspension in March. Having returned from the pause, Guéhi played in Swansea’s final five matches and helped to clinch a sixth-place finish.

Play-off heartbreak came for the first of two times as Swansea lost on aggregate to Brentford in the semi-finals, but Guéhi went on to enjoy personal progression the following season regardless.

2020/21 was something of a landmark for the defender, who returned to Swansea on loan for a full campaign and played 45 games. He became recognised as one of the league’s brightest talents and helped Swansea climb further up the table with a fourth-place finish.

Swansea and Guéhi continued to go one better than 19/20 by reaching the play-off final, but football showed its unforgiving side once again as Brentford overcame them for a second time. Guéhi played in every minute of the three play-off matches.

Guéhi describes himself as “strong, comfortable on the ball and hopefully growing to be a leader one day.”

These traits are evident in his play, with the 21-year-old having captained England Under-21s and made himself a mainstay for Swansea despite being one of the squad’s youngest players.

His attitude became clear when a post-match interview with him went viral across social media. Having earned a spot at Wembley and consecutive Man of the Match awards from Sky Sports, Guéhi humbly rebuked the accolades by saying: “The first time I was really surprised. Now I think it’s getting a bit ridiculous! Everyone was fantastic today, to a man. I could name everyone. For me to get this again, I don’t know.”

On the pitch, Guéhi is assertive and vocal, often heard organising his teammates with confidence. This confidence is reflected in his willingness to drive out from the back and distribute possession from relatively high up the pitch.

His first season in south London saw him feature in all but two of the games in 2021/22, making 42 appearances in total. His first goal for the club came in a chaotic 3-3 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor. Guéhi captained the side for the first time against Watford in February 2022, becoming the youngest player to captain the side since Nathaniel Clyne in 2012.

A month later, he earned his first ever call-up to the full England squad and made his debut in a 2-1 win against Switzerland.

Guéhi continued to be a rock at the heart of the Palace defence in 2022/23, forming a formidable partnership with Joachim Andersen. He was nearly ever-present in 22/23, playing in 40 out of a possible 41 games.

The 2023/24 campaign saw Guéhi again continue as a stalwart at the back, though in the latter half of the season he did suffer a knee injury which kept him out for two months. He concluded 23/24 with 29 appearances in all competitions.

He was called up to the England men's senior squad ahead of the 2024 UEFA European Championship and earned his 10th cap for the Three Lions with a solid defensive display and clean sheet against Bosnia and Herzegovina in June 2024.

Guéhi played a huge role at the heart of the England defence in the 2024 UEFA European Championship, playing every single minute he was eligible for as England finished runners-up in the tournament. He managed to to keep two clean sheets and register an assist for Jude Bellingham's sensational last-minute overhead kick against Slovakia in the round of 16.

UEFA European Under-17 Championship, 2017

Team of the Tournament

March 2022, March 2023

Crystal Palace Player of the Month

Crystal Palace, 2021/22

Players' Player of the Season

January 2025

Crystal Palace Goal of the Month

Guéhi

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More Than A Game: Marc Guehi - PL Productions

Marc Guehi picks NFL 5-a-side team

Marc Guehi Wins January's Goal of the Month

Goal of the month contenders | January 2025

Access All Over: Leicester AND West Ham (A)

Extended highlights: Leicester City 0-2 Crystal Palace | PalaceTV+

Match Action: Leicester City 0-2 Crystal Palace

Marc reflects on stalemate

Christmas Surprise for Our Down Syndrome Eagles!

Marc on a tough defeat 

Access All Over: Wolves (A)

Extended Highlights: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Crystal Palace | Palace TV+

The Full 90: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Crystal Palace | Palace TV+

Match Action: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Crystal Palace

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Season

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With 10 league games remaining, the Eagles have accrued more Premier League points (39) at this stage of the season than ever before – and have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, in which they face Fulham on Saturday afternoon (12:15 GMT).

Speaking to reporters ahead of the tie, defender Chris Richards explained: “It’s been impressive.

“I think regardless of how we started the season, we knew that we were just one millimetre away from making a difference, and I think once we started kind of seeing results in the FA Cup, we started seeing results in the league, and they go hand in hand.

“We worked really hard, and being able to make a run \[in the Cup\], I think it will also help us playing in the league as well because we're playing in similar competitions, so again, I think it's been really good for us.

“I think also, not just myself, but the club and coach, we really aspire to make history here at Palace.

“I believe the year before \[I arrived at Palace, 2021/22\] they had a run \[to the semi-finals\] as well, so it would be fun to have another run and hopefully win it this time.”

Richards did, however, reiterate that with so much to play for over the next two months, Palace were determined to take a level approach heading into Saturday’s tie with Fulham.

“I feel like every game from here-on out is the most important game,” the 25-year-old reasoned. “We try not to overlook it, but hopefully we win \[against Fulham\]. If we don't, we try to win the next game and just keep pushing.

“We know that we've been in really good form, so who knows where we can finish this season in the league. But like I said, we kind of take every game as ‘this game is the most important one.’

“It's another game. We don't make it bigger than it should be. We've had good results over the last 20-ish games and I understand that, if we play like we have been playing over those games, we should get a good result \[today\].

“But again, we're trying not to focus too much on the result. We want to focus on how we're playing.

Match Action: Fulham 0-2 Crystal Palace

“Fulham have had a good season. We just played them a few weeks ago, so we kind of have an idea, or at least we have a fresh memory of how the game went, and so hopefully we can just kind of tighten up the loose ends.

“Even though we won 2-0 it wasn't the best game ever, so hopefully we can definitely improve on the first game that we played against them and get a win.”

This season has marked Palace’s first deep foray into the FA Cup since Richards’ arrival three years ago, and the American smiled: “I grew up, I'd say, watching a few games, but didn't quite realise the importance of it until I got here to Palace.

“I'm really looking forward to it. Like I said, I didn't quite know the scale of the FA Cup until I got here, but it's the biggest competition for a reason.”

### Match Details

**Fulham v Crystal Palace**

- Saturday, 29th March
- 12:15 GMT
- FA Cup quarter-finals
- Craven Cottage
- [Live audio commentary on Palace TV+](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/supporters/palace-tv-plus/).

Chris Richards says Crystal Palace are looking to break new ground as a club, as the Eagles enter the final two months of the season.

Richards: We aspire to make history at Palace

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Fulham and the opportunity to reach Wembley were just two of the topics discussed in this week’s press conference, which also included Jean-Philippe Mateta's return from injury, Dougie Freedman, and more…

- [**Click HERE for the team news update ahead of our trip to Fulham**](http://cpfc.co.uk/news/first-team/team-news-fulham-crystal-palace-march-2025/)

- [**Click HERE to subscribe to Palace TV+ to enjoy LIVE audio commentary**](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/supporters/palace-tv-plus/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=)

### **On potentially leading Palace to Wembley...**

Of course it would be great. I know everybody is waiting for this chance. In the last nine years Palace have achieved this \[getting to Wembley\] twice, so it's a great achievement for the club: one final and one semi-final \[in the FA Cup\].

But when you look at the eight managers, maybe except Pep \[Guardiola\] who is used to finals, but everyone else with their clubs it is a unique situation.

We are one of those clubs not normally in this situation, so we'll show our best effort tomorrow to win at Fulham and then play the semi-finals.

Now it is the quarter-final and we're facing a very good Fulham team. We know this, we've played them twice. They won at Selhurst, then we won there. We're not so far apart in the table.

This is the game I expect, Fulham are in the same situation, they want to go to Wembley as well. So we have to be ready and play at our top, top level. If we do it is possible to win there and this is what we will try.

Pre-match Press Conference:  Fulham (A)

### **On Dougie Freedman's departure...**

He didn't ask me about the decision but I was involved in the process so it didn't come surprisingly to me. 

He was here for eight years as Sporting Director and he was looking for a new, different challenge away from the Premier League. He has taken the decision for himself and his family, so we have to agree.

There was no disappointment because Dougie was open, so it was all good. He made some excellent recruitment with all our scouts and the scouting department here.

Everything is on the correct pathway. It's a new situation for the club. A very important person has left after eight years, so it is something new, but we have very good communication within the club.

He's done a great job. It's the circle of football, and the circle of life maybe, you get changes in a company, in a club.

### **On the teams left in the competition...**

*The five most successful teams in the competition’s history are absent from this year’s last eight. This is only the third FA Cup season, and first since 2019, where at least four quarter-finalists have never won the competition.*

We would be three games away from winning the competition even if they \[Arsenal and Liverpool\] were still in the competition.

If you want the win the trophy you have to beat big teams to win it. I don't care who is in the competition. I just care about Fulham and Crystal Palace, because this is the team I am responsible for.

I think we showed many times we are competitive against any team in the league, if we perform on our top level.

It is up to us to be ready tomorrow, that's it.

### **On picking his best team for the cup...**

I'm always a little bit surprised that this is a question. I've seen a lot of teams rotate a bit, especially in the League Cup. But for us we don't play international games, we just play these two cup competitions. 

So even if we played in the final of this competition, I think that would be 49 games this season. That's a normal number, the teams in the Championship play a similar amount if they reach the play-offs.

So I don't see a reason not to play the strongest team and I think this is also what the players deserve. When they perform good and train well, they show they can help the team - this is the team I will start, always.

### **On hitting form at the right time...**

You could mention quite a few things. We were struggling at the beginning of the season and then things started to work better. We now have very few injuries here, apart from two long-term injuries. Unfortunately, this happens in football.

The group is fantastic. They are always so hard working in training and always hungry and ambitious to improve. It's a great staff here as well who supports the players in every part of the game - we have a great backroom staff working with them.

I think it's teamwork and this is what we have to continue until the end of the season.

### **On Mateta overcoming his injury...**

When I have watched him training, he looks the same as he was before. He needed to get back into his rhythm because he couldn't really train for two weeks. One week he was just at home and the second week he trained individually.

Also he was lucky in the sense that nothing was fractured, there was no concussion. At least it was 'just' the ear. I know it was a terrible injury but some players say that the ear actually looks better than before now! So it's okay.

Also our doctor and the medical team did a great job finding the right protection for him. He tried on a few different ones in training to see which fit best. So he is ready.

If I believed it was a problem I wouldn't play him, but it is not a problem.

### Match Details

- **Saturday, 29th March**
- **12:15 GMT**
- **FA Cup quarter-finals**
- **Craven Cottage**
- [**Live audio commentary on Palace TV+**](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/supporters/palace-tv-plus/).

Manager Oliver Glasner faced the media in his pre-match press conference ahead of Palace’s FA Cup quarter-final tie away at Fulham on Saturday, 29th March (KO: 12:15 GMT).

The key quotes from Oliver Glasner’s pre-match Fulham press conference

Devenny won his second and third caps in the recent international window, playing 78 minutes of a friendly defeat to Sweden earlier this week. 

But now his focus has shifted towards a mouthwatering all-London FA Cup quarter-final. 

Palace travel to Fulham on Saturday (12:15 GMT) knowing they are close to booking a trip to Wembley. And the 21-year old says the team are ready for the challenge. 

"It's been amazing to be back," Devenny said. "We've had a few boys coming back from internationals, so the energy's good, the positive vibes are around the place. But now we're focusing on the game and seeing what we can do \[against Fulham\].

"It's such a good togetherness and we've got big games coming up, none bigger than at the weekend. It's a one-off game as well, so all our focus is on that.

"We all know ourselves, that we want to do the best we can. For us, just targeting top-ten \[league finish\] is not really for us. 

"Our ambition is to get higher than that. We want to try and win every game and see where it takes us. We're pushing for top six and we've obviously got the FA Cup as well. We just want to be as ambitious as possible, because there's no limit for this team."

Devenny has already played a big part on Palace's cup journey this season. His glorious finish against Doncaster Rovers in the fourth round, helping secure a smooth progression to the last 16. 

Just as the League Two side were enjoying their best spell of the game, the Northern Ireland international took Will Hughes' clever pass in his stride before superbly lobbing Doncaster goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe.

That was actually only the midfielder's second appearance in a competition that means a lot to him, having come off the bench against Stockport County in the previous round.

"I've watched every FA Cup final since I was a kid," he added. "But this is my first taste of playing in it, and my goal against Doncaster was another great moment for me - it's been an amazing competition to be part of.

"It's so special because it's a one-off game, and everyone's got a chance, and one week you could be playing against the top teams, and then other weeks you might be a bit further down the pyramid. 

"And it's always a lively atmosphere, there is always that real belief no matter who you're playing, no matter where you are in the league. Everyone believes that they can be the team to win it, and hopefully we can be \[this year\].

"I know if we were to get to Wembley, it would be such a proud moment for myself, and my family, and all the boys. We've all become really good friends here, and for us to be on that park, it would be such a special moment that we would relish. 

"I believe we can do that."

Fresh from his latest taste of international football with Northern Ireland, midfielder Justin Devenny says there's no limit on Palace's ambition ahead of the season run-in.

Devenny on Palace's ambitions and why the FA Cup means so much

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