USMNT’s Ream never gave up on World Cup dream

In November 2010, when Tim Ream was called up to the U.S. national team for the first time, 2022 World Cup teammate Gio Reyna was two days short of his eighth birthday.

Most of the 26 U.S. players here for soccer’s quadrennial festival did not arrive on the international scene until Ream was deep into his career in England, the past fourand-a-half years shuttling in and out of the Premier League with London club Fulham.

“Tim’s the grandpa of the group,” Tyler Adams,

a 23-year-old midfielder, said with a wide smile.

Few expected Ream would make his first World Cup squad this year — including Ream. It wasn’t his age, rather — it was his long absence. Before he fielded a call from coach Gregg Berhalter two weeks ago, Ream had not received an invitation in 14 months.

The World Cup, though, demanded experience, particularly on the secondyoungest squad (25.2 years) in the tournament. (Only Ghana, at 24.7, is younger.) The U.S. situation also required reinforcement in central defense, which had lost two candidates to injury and showed fragility in the September tuneups.

Furthermore, Ream has been enjoying a terrific season in the Premier League, playing alongside U.S. left back Antonee Robinson.

“He’s a top performer for his team,” Berhalter said. “It’s really hard to ignore stuff like that . ... All the pieces were aligned to bring him back.”

Though he has not played for the U.S. team since the first World Cup qualifier in September 2021, Ream could very well start the first U.S. World Cup match Monday against Wales.

“You don’t ever give up hope,” said Ream, a St. Louis native who has also played for the New York Red Bulls and England’s Bolton Wanderers. “You never completely say you’re out of the picture. There were conversations [with Berhalter] before every [match] window from last October onwards, and so I knew there was maybe a possibility.”

Still, though, he was not optimistic.

“Not being involved, not being called in,” he said, “you just kind of start to make peace and accept where things are heading.”

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Canada 2, Japan 1:

The Canadian men’s national team won its final FIFA World Cup tuneup

2-1 over Japan without standouts Alphonso Davies and Stephen Eustáquio.

A Lucas Cavallini penalty kick in extra time provided Canada with the win in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.