‘How much are you willing to do?’: Charlotte FC’s Tim Ream looks ahead to world stage with USMNT

CHARLOTTE — Before the season started, Tim Ream acknowledged that his goals this year would be different, and more special.

The Charlotte FC defender and captain of the U.S. Men’s National Team once faced a four-year wait. It’s now down to weeks.

“Yeah, I’m anxious, I think if someone tells you they’re not nervous and it isn’t a little bit stressful, they’re probably completely lying to you,” Ream told Channel 9’s DaShawn Brown. “And I’m usually the one saying, ‘Yeah, I’m great, it’s all good.’”

Ream has been a fixture on the national team since 2010, but he said even his spot isn’t guaranteed on the roster for the World Cup.

The U.S. will announce the roster officially on Tuesday. That’ll be followed by their first friendly as a team, five days later. They’ll face Senegal on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

"Being here in the US, and we’re hosting this one ... I didn’t know what all the talk and all the media stuff and all the interviews and the extras that went on over here because I was in England at the time," Ream said. “Those things, it creates more of an aura, this hype around the tournament.”

At 38 years old, Ream is set to step back into the world spotlight, and on U.S. soil. It’s a feat he says he didn’t always expect, but one that he continued to work for.

“That becomes the challenge. How much are you willing to do to prepare yourself just for a training? That leads into how much are you willing to do ... because the games are easy,” Ream said.

Ream says it’s just a game, but it has a special meaning.

“I don’t really approach the game any different. I don’t approach or say I’m carrying the torch for domestic league or this club or that club. I feel like if you look at it from ab ig perspective, you’re representing a country. You’re representing 330-plus million people,” Ream said.

The men’s national team will get two final tune-ups before their World Cup match on June 12. The first game is in Sunday against Senegal, then they’ll head to Chicago to face Germany.

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