There's a lot riding on the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer – especially for the American co-hosts.
There's the hope that the U.S. Men's National Team will not just play well, but make a deep run in the tournament. Then there's the hope that the tournament – which is being hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico – will light a fuse and inspire a new generation of fans.
Despite growing stubbornly on the backs of the success of the women's national team, many have questioned the viability of a long-term American soccer audience.
No one understands this more than Tim Ream. He's been a steady presence on defense at his Major League Soccer club, Charlotte FC. And if he's selected tomorrow in the final, 26-man roster for the U.S. Men's National Team, he'll have a chance to quell the naysayers, who say America isn't a soccer country, or that the men's team will always fall short.
"I have no doubt in my mind that we can win in a knockout stage game. I have no doubt that we can win multiple games in the knockout stages," Ream said in an interview with All Things Considered host Juana Summers.
Tim Ream is 38. He started all four games in 2022 at the World Cup in Qatar. The 2022 squad – which was the second-youngest team in the tournament – was eliminated in the Round of 16 by the Netherlands. They failed to qualify in 2018 for the games in Russia. Aside from not being able to compete, they lost a moment to build an identity on the global stage.
"At the last World Cup, none of us had played. We had one guy who had played in a World Cup previously," Ream said. "And now I think guys have a much better understanding of what it takes."
Ream is also the only player in the current talent pool with any memory of the last time the tournament was held in the United States, in 1994 — though he was only 6 years old. He's a likely choice for the final roster. He previously served as the team captain and he's ready to do whatever the team might ask of him.
"If that's starting every game and playing every minute like I did in 2022, if it's being the person who comes on and helps see out the games, if it's being the leader behind the scenes and the voice behind the scenes to help guys navigate the whole World Cup tournament. I'm willing and able to do anything that's asked of me," he said.
Ream said he understands the pressure on this year's squad. "People want to believe that [soccer in America] is going to continue to grow and that [the 2026 World Cup] will be an even bigger catalyst than 1994," he said. The momentum of the 1994 tournament led to the creation of Major League Soccer, the MLS.
In the end, he said success can take many shapes. On the pitch, it's winning and "making people proud." And off the pitch, he understands the weight of the moment.
"I think the biggest hope and dream would be to say we've inspired our own country of 330-plus million people, that we're inspiring the next generation of players who are already fully focused and ingrained in the game and want to become the next iteration of the U.S. national team," Ream said, adding it's especially important to him that they can help foster a love a soccer among children.
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