FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Tim Ream was surprised, his voice filled with emotion.
On the verge of becoming the oldest U.S. player to appear in a World Cup, the 38-year-old defender was picked by coach Mauricio Pochettino to captain the Americans next month.
“Wow,” Ream said during a news conference Saturday, seated alongside Pochettino. “This is more than a dream come true. I’ve done everything possible to be a part of this group, to help this group along. I’m just really, really grateful to be sitting here, to have this honor.”
Ream was not aware he was going to be appointed captain until Pochettino made the announcement during a news conference on an indoor field at the new U.S. National Soccer Training Center.
“It’s the highest honor for me in this group,” he said, his voice echoing in the gym-like room. “I’m not going to take that for granted.”
A St. Louis native who plays for Charlotte in Major League Soccer, Ream will be 38 years, 250 days on the day the U.S. plays its opener against Paraguay on June 12, older than defender Fernando Clavijo when the U.S. was knocked out by Brazil in 1994. Clavijo was 37 years, 162 days or 38 years, 162 days — his birthdate was listed at Jan. 23, 1957, when he played and Jan. 23, 1956, at the time of his death in 2019.
Ream started all four games for the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup, when Tyler Adams at 23 was the youngest captain among the 32 nations and the youngest for the U.S. since 1950.
Adams said Thursday that he didn’t care whether he would return as captain.
“It’s a privilege and honor, anyone that gets to wear the armband,” he said. “What I represent and how I lead, I think anybody that plays with me knows that I’m a leader. That’s just how I’ve been my entire career whether I’m wearing the armband or not.”
Ream has 80 international appearances, second on the team only to Christian Pulisic’s 84, and has captained the U.S. in 17 of 24 games since Pochettino took over in October 2024.
“A great captain, not only on the field, maybe more important off the field,” Pochettino said. “He has the experience, he has a capacity to be the leader that we want, the positive leader.”
Ream played college soccer for Saint Louis University, then joined the New York Red Bulls in 2010. He moved to England with Bolton in 2012, then signed with Fulham in 2015 and spent 10 seasons at Craven Cottage. He returned to MLS with Charlotte in 2024.
“So lucky to have a player like him with his personality and his character involved and helping the young players and the players also that have lesser experience,” Pochettino said. “Playing or not playing, he is the captain. It’s not now he’s the captain, he’s going to be sure in the starting 11.”
Previous U.S. World Cup captains include 24-year-old Mike Windischmann in 1990, 25-year-old Tony Meola in 1994, 37-year-old Thomas Dooley in 1998, 28-year-old Claudio Reyna in 2002, Reyna again in 2006, 31-year-old Carlos Bocanegra in 2010 and 31-year-old Clint Dempsey in 2014.
“Of course, it’s important. The captain, you’re first one out of the tunnel, especially in a home World Cup, it’s very important,” retired forward Jozy Altidore said at training Thursday. “But when I see this group, I see a bunch of leaders. Maybe they didn’t start that way, but now they’re most certainly leaders in terms of how they’ve played at their clubs, how they developed as young men.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
