Christian Pulisic et Tim Ream, Captain America and quiet leader at heart of USA’s World Cup bid | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, the veteran captain Tim Ream and former prodigy Christian Pulisic are long-standing pillars of the United States, who face Belgium at 2am on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Pulisic’s magnetism was clear at SoFi Stadium after the 2-3 defeat by Türkiye, when a press officer hurried him through the mixed zone as team-mates lingered. Since debuting more than a decade ago, the 27-year-old has drawn the spotlight.

In 2016 the ex-Dortmund winger became his country’s youngest modern-era starter, provider and scorer in World Cup qualifying. He was the first American to play in and win a Champions League final with Chelsea in 2021. A mixed start at Milan has not dented his standing.

Now fronting Mauricio Pochettino’s attack, he has largely handled the pressure of a home World Cup. A calf problem after the first game let Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman emerge while he regrouped.

In late May Pochettino ended a rotating armband shared by Pulisic, Ream, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, Mark McKenzie and Matt Turner, handing the captaincy to Ream.

There were doubts as he had featured intermittently, yet at 38 he has excelled and is the United States’ oldest World Cup player, eclipsing Fernando Clavijo’s 1994 record. He postponed retirement after Qatar, left Fulham in 2024 after 312 matches in nine years, and joined Charlotte in MLS seeking minutes, calling it a second chance.

Source: L'Équipe