The U.S. Men’s National Team beat Chile 4-2 at Energizer Park in St. Louis on Tuesday, but the evening was about much more than the scoreline.
The night was a farewell to Tim Ream and his generation of soccer players, and a very loud introduction to the next.
If you aren’t familiar with Ream’s international career, here’s the short version:
86 Caps
26 Appearances as Captain
16 Years with the USMNT
Two World Cup Squads (2022 and 2026)
In a pre-match press conference, Ream - who turns 39 on Monday - announced the end of his international playing career, and told Soccer Sheet he’ll make a decision about the future of his career at Charlotte FC at the end of the season.
After Ream was honored during pre-match festivities, the attention turned to the new kids. Brian Schwake earned his first cap for the United States, while six players - Chris Brady, Julian Hall, Adri Mehmeti, Neil Pierre, Brooklyn Raines, and Frankie Westfield - got their first starts.
The Stars and Stripes scored four goals from four different goal scorers for the second straight match, with both Julian Hall and Sebastian Berhalter netting their second goals of this international break.
Before we get to the goals, the teenagers, and the fight(s) in part two of this story, let’s talk about a “cap.”
You Gotta Keep Your Head Up
If you’re new to soccer, the word “cap” simply means an appearance for your national team in an international match, including both tournaments and friendlies. The term comes from the English tradition - dating back to 1886 - of presenting players with a cap for every international appearance.
When you hear, for example, that Tim Ream finished his career with 86 caps, that means he stepped onto the pitch for his country 86 times. In Ream’s case, the most surprising part is that 60 of those 86 appearances came after his 30th birthday.
Usually, players hit their peak, rack up their appearances, and eventually move aside for the next generation. Ream somehow kept going.
For that, and many other reasons, the US Soccer Federation made a point of giving him his flowers for all 86 of those appearances.
The Homecoming
There are athletes who become associated with a city or state, and then there are players who feel like they have always belonged to a place.
Tim Ream is the latter.
He grew up in St. Louis. He learned to play soccer there. He played for St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC. He went to St. Louis University and played all four years for the Billikens before being drafted by the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.
This past week, after a career spanning the Atlantic Ocean and two World Cups, he came back to the city where it all began.
First, on Monday night, Ream joined the American Outlaws supporters group at Amsterdam Tavern in St. Louis for a fan Q&A session at the bar that hosts St. Louis’ AO chapter. The session was moderated by fellow Billiken and USMNT alum Ty Keough, whose father Harry was a member of the team that upset England in the 1950 World Cup.
“I’ve known Tim since he was about seven years old, and the fact is at seven years old he came to the camp I was running at Washington University,” said Keough. “And I said to his dad, Scott, ‘Scott, you know, he looks to me, he reminds me of [German football legends] Günter Netzer or Bernd Schuster.’”
“Maybe I was on to something,” Keough added, to laughs.
Ream was late to the event; originally, some AO members claimed he got lost, but Ream later clarified that he was unexpectedly asked to give a speech to the USMNT squad the night before the match.
“Cavan [Sullivan] got put up to that one,” Ream remarked, referencing the breakout Philadelphia Union player who turned 17 the night before the Chile match.
Ream Retires from the National Team (Officially)
In the hour before the match, Ream joined reporters for a press conference. Since USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino had left Ream off of the United States’ October roster, one question was as unsurprising as its answer.
Before the reporter, Steve Goff, could formulate the question, Ream jumped in.
“‘Am I retiring from the National Team?’ is what you’re asking,” said Ream. “Let’s shoot it straight here.”
“Yes,” replied Goff.
“Yes. I know I’ve said in the past that I won't retire from from the national team until I retire completely from the game,” replied Ream. “But the kids are getting younger and younger, and I don’t mean my own kids. So yeah, before this camp it was discussed that I would not be a player with the national team anymore.”
“So it is retirement. We’ve used the word recognition,” continued Ream. “I’m proud of being a part of something for 16 years, but it is it is time to to step away from playing with with the national team.”
Soccer Sheet asked Ream a pair of questions; first what it meant to be honored in his home city of St. Louis, and what the retirement announcement meant for his time at Charlotte FC.
“In terms of playing here, spending the first 22 years of your life [here], your pre-professional career [here], and then sitting there last night with the Q&A with AO and now sitting here having this this event tonight, it’s kind of a full circle moment,” said Ream. “Where did the dream start? It started in this city. Not that the dream ends, but the ending of playing and retiring from the national team. That dream was a dream that I was able to make reality. So to end it here is fitting. It’s nice. It’s full circle.”
Ream went on to talk about how the recognition in St. Louis allowed the moment to be in front of family, friends, coaches, and many of the people who played a role in his career, even if he doesn’t know them personally. He thought it made sense, even if it wasn’t something he planned.
“This is not my idea of something that I’m all that comfortable with,” Ream added. “I’m more of just a guy who just thought I was just doing my my job, playing my role, but I’m grateful to be to be sitting here after all of that, after starting here in the city and and now ending here.”
“I can definitely confirm it was not his idea,” added USMNT communications director Michael Kammarman.
“I tried to get out of it actually,” said Ream, rolling his eyes.
Ream Addresses his Future with Charlotte FC
When he returns to Charlotte after the international break (and a red card suspension), Ream is focused on moving up the table before entering the playoffs - and he told Soccer Sheet he doesn’t know when he’s going to retire from club play.
“I haven't made a decision. I'm not I'm not entirely sure what’s going to happen,” said Ream. “As a team, we want to try and win a trophy. We have a have a good group in that changing room and [we’ve] been playing well, been on a good run. So that's the focus, and then, once the season finishes, then you figure it out from there.”
However, Ream may have shown a little bit of his hand in his word choice.
“That won't be a decision made or vocalized until after the the last ball is kicked,” Ream added.
Passing the Torch
Ream didn’t get a farewell in some faraway stadium at the end of an international window; he got it at home. He got to walk into Energizer Park knowing that the people watching him understood what this all meant.
He also used the opportunity to look to the future.
“The biggest thing that I wanted to do as I started to get the captain’s armband more and more is, ‘How can I help these guys become the next captain?’” he said.
That’s the kind of answer that tells you a lot about what Ream thinks his job was. Not just to play or defend, but to leave the place better than he found it, and on Tuesday night US Soccer honored him for doing just that.
That was the beauty of Tuesday night. Friends, family, and teammates saying goodbye to a player who spent 16 years helping to build the program, while introducing the players who might define its next four.
Next, in Part II: The next generation of U.S. players aren’t knocking on the door. They’re already here.
