At 38, Tim Ream is set to become the oldest U.S. player ever to feature in a World Cup, and coach Mauricio Pochettino has entrusted him with the captain’s armband for the tournament, Yankee Scores reports.
Tim Ream was filled with emotions during a news conference on 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 had no idea he was going to be appointed the captain of the team until Pochettino’s announcement during the news conference at the new U.S. national Soccer Training Center.
The St. Louis native will be 38 years, 250 days on the day the U.S plays its opener against Paraguay on June 12, older than Fernando Clavijo in 1994.
Mauricio Pochettino has named Tim Ream captain for the @USMNT ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/YOHnPrYoXj
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 30, 2026
Tyler Adams was the youngest captain among the 32 nations, the youngest for the U.S. since 1950 when Ream started all four games for the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup.
According to Adams, “It’s a privilege and honor, anyone that gets to wear the armband. 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.”
Since Pochettino look over in 2024, Ream has had 80 international appearances and has captained the U.S. in 16 of 23 games.
“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.”
