FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia — U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino has named defender Tim Ream as captain for the USMNT during the 2026 World Cup.
Pochettino made the announcement at his news conference ahead of Sunday’s pre-World Cup friendly against Senegal in Charlotte, N.C.
“I am so grateful that [Ream] is with us and because [he] was a great captain, not only on the field…maybe more important of the field,” Pochettino said.
“And I think he has the experience, he has the capacity to be the leader that we want, the positive leader acting and reflecting on the field, off the field.
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As you know, for me it’s one of the most important things is to connect with the player, is to connect through the player that have experience, and I think he’s amazing.”
Pochettino said he made the decision in conjunction with his staff, though it wasn’t much of a surprise.
Of the 23 games the USMNT has played under Pochettino, Ream has been the team’s captain 16 times. Ream, who is the team’s oldest player at 38 years old, was clearly moved by the honor.
Ream said, “Wow. I am not sure what to say. Thank you. Yeah, 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 and I’m just really, really grateful to be sitting here to have this honor.
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“At 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, with this group and for the World Cup and I’m not going to take that for granted.”
Pochettino also gave a status update on defender Chris Richards, who has been attempting to come back from an ankle injury. Richards made the bench in Crystal Palace‘s 1-0 triumph in the UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano.
But Pochettino said that Richards wouldn’t travel to Charlotte for the Senegal match, and would remain at the National Training Center outside Atlanta to continue his rehabilitation.
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“I think he needs to keep doing his rehab and I think it’s much better to stay here and plan to train and reevaluate next week [to see] how he is,” Pochettino said.
When asked if he thought Richards would recover in time to play in the team’s World Cup opener on June 12 against Paraguay, Pochettino said it was “too early.”
“We need to see. The next few days are going to be key to see the possibility to be ready or not on the World Cup,” Pochettino said about Richards.
