SouthernWorldwide.com – U.S. men’s national team captain Tim Ream has expressed a clear and ambitious goal for his team at the upcoming World Cup: to win the entire tournament.
Ream, at 38 years old, believes there is no reason for the team to downplay their aspirations. He stated that every team aims for victory, and the U.S. squad is no different in this regard.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to shy away from saying it, and every team will want to win, right? And there’s no reason for us to shy away.”
The U.S. team reached the Round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup, a notable achievement for a relatively inexperienced group. Ream emphasized that the team intends to build upon that experience and has adopted a winning mindset from the very first training session.
For Ream, the selection process for the 2026 World Cup squad felt significantly different compared to 2022. He recalled that in the previous tournament, his inclusion was somewhat unexpected and came after a last-minute call. This time, however, he felt the anticipation and the wait for the announcement seemed to drag on.
The St. Louis native described making the team this year as a profound sense of relief.
“I would say it was relief this time around. It was such a long drawn-out — I wouldn’t say process, but it just felt like the weeks were going by so slow until that announcement,” Ream said.
“I dropped everything and called my wife, and I choked up. I’m not going to lie. There was a little bit of relief and that pressure release and the thought of, okay, everything that you’ve done is worth it, right? Everything that you’ve gone through, all the decisions you’ve made between 2022 and now, have been worth it.”
Ream acknowledged that playing in the United States for the World Cup adds a special dimension to the experience. However, he stressed that the fundamental expectations and pressure remain the same, regardless of the host nation.
“I think it definitely does have a little bit different meaning. I don’t think that the pressure or the expectations change. I think some people get it a little bit wrong, which is that it’s a World Cup. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing it. It’s a World Cup. The expectations and the and the pressure are going to be there,” Ream said.
“The difference is that we’re gonna have hopefully — and we would love it — that we will have full stadiums of U.S. supporters and people all over the country supporting us. Feeling that energy and that that excitement in in each city that we’re that we’re in.”
Ream expressed his desire to fully embrace and enjoy the upcoming tournament, taking in as much of the experience as possible and seeing how far the team can advance.
At 38 years old, Ream has not yet definitively considered whether this World Cup will be his last. He recognizes his age and the realities that come with it, but he is focused on the present opportunity.
“I’m not really thinking about it yet. I said that after 2022 that, oh, that was probably it. And here I am sitting here again in 2026. So, I haven’t really thought about it. I’m no dummy, I know that at 38 I’m well past I think what most people would consider a big-time (player) or someone who can be here regularly after this,” Ream said.
“I’ve done so much to put myself in this position to be a part of this group, to be a part of a home World Cup, that I’m not even thinking about what happens next. I think once the World Cup finishes, then then I’ll think about where I go from there.”
Beyond his World Cup aspirations, Ream has also partnered with Goodnites, an underwear brand, to address the issue of bedwetting. He shared his personal experience of bedwetting until the age of 11, aiming to help children who may feel isolated or ashamed by the condition.
Approximately one in six children between the ages of 3 and 12 experience bedwetting. Ream’s involvement seeks to normalize this common childhood experience and reassure affected children that it does not define them or hinder their future aspirations.
“(As) someone who’s been through this,” Ream said. “I don’t need to feel ashamed, it doesn’t define who I am. It doesn’t take away from what they’re dreaming of doing or their future.”
“It’s about inspiring kids. It’s about helping the parents, as I said, and reminding families that bedwetting is a common part of childhood and it’s nothing that they should be ashamed of.”
As a father of three, Ream plans to have his children wear Goodnites to bed. This initiative is intended to protect their confidence and further normalize the experience within his own family.
“It’s really as easy as saying, ‘Hey, listen, boys, we’re going to wear these tonight. It protects you. You’ll get a good night’s sleep. It’s nothing to like I said, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. And it was really the best thing. They would wake up feeling good. We would have no, nighttime wakeups where we were all scrambling to try to calm people down and calm kids down and get them back to sleep,” Ream said.
