{"id":909464,"date":"2026-05-31T11:13:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/31\/charlotte-fcs-tim-ream-named-usmnt-captain-for-2026-world-cup-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T11:13:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:13:34","slug":"charlotte-fcs-tim-ream-named-usmnt-captain-for-2026-world-cup-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/31\/charlotte-fcs-tim-ream-named-usmnt-captain-for-2026-world-cup-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlotte FC’s Tim Ream named USMNT captain for 2026 World Cup | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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Tim Ream<\/a> will captain the United States<\/a> at the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>, head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed before the Yanks face Senegal in their penultimate test before the tournament begins next month across North America.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cI am so grateful that he’s with us, because he was a great captain, not only on the field, if not maybe more important off the field,\u201d the Argentine boss remarked of the\u00a0Charlotte FC<\/a> center back, whose club’s home, Bank of America Stadium, will host Sunday\u2019s friendly (3:30 pm ET | TBS, HBO Max, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the experience, he has the capacity to be the leader that we want, the positive leader, acting and reflecting on the field and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

True to form, in the very next breath, \u2018Poch\u2019 emphasized that even this title doesn’t automatically confer playing time, reiterating a favorite talking point of his tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s important for us to translate to you and translate to everyone that, playing or no playing, he is the captain,\u201d Pochettino added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not [that] now he’s the captain, he\u2019s going to be sure on the starting 11, eh? It doesn’t mean that. But importantly always [he] is going to be, with armband or without armband. He’s the captain, and he’s a great, great guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tim Ream has been named as the #USMNT<\/a> captain by Mauricio Pochettino for the FIFA World Cup 2026. \ud83e\udee1 pic.twitter.com\/w6dth76pbr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) May 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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Reams of respect<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

While no great surprise \u2013 no player has worn the armband more often during Pochettino\u2019s tenure \u2013 it\u2019s a moving tribute to the veteran defender\u2019s resilience and reliability, and the respect he\u2019s earned from peers and staff.<\/p>\n

Teammates had already jokingly dubbed Ream \u2018grandpa\u2019 at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, an event at which he was perceived to have defied the odds by becoming a USMNT protagonist in his first World Cup at age 34. Four years later, with his 39th birthday just a few months away, he\u2019s in essence a black swan.<\/p>\n

Should Ream take the pitch \u2013 and he remains a strong candidate to start \u2013 he would break the record, set by the late, great Fernando Clavijo in 1994, for the oldest World Cup player in USMNT history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is more than a dream come true. I’ve done everything possible to be a part of this group, to help this group along, and I’m just really, really grateful to be sitting here,\u201d said Ream in brief remarks at the start of Saturday’s press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, it’s not going to change what I do or who I am, and how I help the group. So, thank you. It’s the highest honor for me in this group, with this group for the World Cup, and I’m not going to take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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Chris Richards injury update<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s other major news item: A modest update on center back Chris Richards.<\/p>\n

The FC Dallas<\/a> product was the last player to join training camp at U.S. Soccer\u2019s new National Training Center near Atlanta, due to his involvement in the UEFA Conference League final with Crystal Palace on Wednesday, a 1-0 win for the Londoners over Rayo Vallecano in which Richards dressed, but did not play as he nurses an ankle injury.<\/p>\n

Given all that, no one expected Richard to figure in Sunday\u2019s match vs. Senegal, and Pochettino confirmed the Alabama native will stay in Georgia to focus on his rehab work.<\/p>\n

But the coach confessed he, like everyone else, will have to wait and see if Richards can heal in time to anchor the Yanks\u2019 back line at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needs to keep doing his rehab, and I think it’s much better to stay here and plan to train and reevaluate next week how he is,\u201d Pochettino said of Richards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was asking from yesterday,\u201d added the Argentine, \u201c100 times: What do you think? What do you think, which information we have? \u2018Wait, wait, wait, wait.\u2019 The answer was wait, wait, wait, wait. Yes, it’s too early. We need to see. The next few days are going to be key to see the possibility to be ready or not for the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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Stern test<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Whoever takes the field in Yanks colors at \u2018The Bank\u2019 will face a stern test.<\/p>\n

One of Africa\u2019s elite sides, Senegal won the 2025 African Cup of Nations in style over the winter, though some \u2013 most importantly CAF, the continental confederation \u2013 later adjudged the Lions of Teranga to have forfeited that title by briefly walking off the pitch during their contentious, supremely dramatic cup final vs. Morocco.<\/p>\n

Smooth, clever, rangy, Senegal are packed with talents starring at powerhouse clubs, and Pochettino believes they\u2019re a real threat to win it all this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenegal is one of the best teams. In the final of the game in Morocco, I don’t know if to say it was a champion, or a different champion or no champion,\u201d Pochettino said, prompting chuckles among the press pack, \u201cbut the quality is amazing.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to be nice, because we are going to meet [Idrissa] Gana Gueye, Nico Jackson, Sadio Man\u00e9, different players that we know very well, we coached in different clubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a fantastic team. It’s, for me, one of the contenders from Africa. They are going to be one of the contenders of the FIFA World Cup, I have no doubt, because of the capacity and the quality of the players.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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