Tim Ream will captain the U.S. men’s national team at the upcoming World Cup.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino awarded the armband to the 38-year-old Charlotte FC defender on Saturday.
“I am so grateful he is with us — he is a great captain not only (on the) field but more importantly off the field. He has the experience and capacity to be the leader we want,” Pochettino said.
Ream has earned 80 caps with the USMNT since 2010 and started all four matches for the 2022 World Cup squad captained by Tyler Adams in Qatar.
“This is more than a dream come true,” said Ream, who is set to become the oldest American to play in a World Cup. “It’s the highest honor for me.”
The U.S. squad is currently ranked 16th in the world and is in Group D for the World Cup in North America, opening play June 12 against Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif., before matches against Australia (June 19 in Seattle) and Turkey (June 25 in Inglewood, Calif.).
The Americans’ final tune-up friendlies are against Senegal (Sunday in Charlotte) and Germany (June 6 in Chicago).
Professionally, Ream is in his third season with Charlotte and fourth in the MLS. He has two goals and three assists in 105 regular-season matches (102 starts) with the New York Red Bulls (2011) and Charlotte (2024-26). He also played in England for Bolton Wanderers (2012-15) and Fulham (2015-24).
Also, Pochettino shed light on the status of defender Chris Richards, who has been attempting to come back from an ankle injury.
Pochettino said Richards won’t travel to Charlotte to compete in the Senegal match. Rather, he will remain at the National Training Center near Atlanta to continue his rehabilitation.
“I think he needs to keep doing his rehab and I think it’s much better to stay here and plan to train and re-evaluate next week (to see) how he is,” Pochettino said.
Richards, 26, sustained his injury while playing for Crystal Palace on May 17.
Twenty-six man rosters must be submitted to FIFA by June 1, although the U.S. can replace injured players until June 11.
–Field Level Media
