CHARLOTTE — Tim Ream has served as captain in 16 of the 23 matches under Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure as head coach of the US men’s national team. Christian Pulisic has worn the armband twice, and Chris Richards captained the side in a March friendly against Portugal.

Pochettino has emphasized cohesion and character in selecting his captain. The USMNT head coach described Ream as having “the experience, he knows what it means to play in Europe and travel here [to play with the national team]. He has the values and the humanity and character to have the capacity to help the team day to day.” Pochettino added that “leadership is not something you can buy in a supermarket.” He also said, “Leadership is not to score three goals or save three penalties. It’s to make cohesion. It’s to provide the tools to the group to find the dynamic, to be alive, to feel the energy, to create energy.”

USMNT veteran Landon Donovan told the Guardian that past World Cup squads had numerous on-field leaders, reducing the symbolic weight of the armband. “In those tournaments, it didn’t really matter who was wearing the armband. It really didn’t. Almost everyone on the field was wearing the armband for their club team. Whether it was Carlos, or Claudio [Reyna], or [Jeff] Agoos, it didn’t really matter because there were at least six or seven or eight guys who wore the armband for their club team or who were leaders with their club team,” Donovan said. “The difference with this team is there actually aren’t many of those players. If you just went through the roster and put together a potential lineup, [you have a few] but that’s kind of it, right? I do think there’s more importance this time in who the captain is. My guess would be that it’s Tim Ream.”

Ream referred to himself as just another “cog in the machine” during Fox’s roster reveal. If he appears in the 2026 World Cup, he will become the oldest player in USMNT history to play in a World Cup, surpassing Fernando Clavijo’s record from 1994.