Who is Weston McKennie? Inside the USMNT World Cup roster

Player: Weston McKennie
Age: 24
Birthplace: Little Elm, Texas
Club: Juventus F.C.
Position: Central midfielder
Team role: Star
USMNT caps: 37

The jokester of the U.S. men’s national team, Weston McKennie is that guy who sits in the back of a Tyler Adams news conference and pretends to ask serious (and silly) questions or comes up behind Christian Pulisic during a TV interview and makes a funny face. The 24-year-old who plays for Juventus is a Harry Potter fan and likes to play tricks on his teammates with mischief of his own.

On the field, McKennie was named 2020 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year and 2021 CONCACAF Nations League Player of the Tournament. He’s scored four goals in the UEFA Champions League, which is tied with DaMarcus Beasley for the second-most by a U.S. player (Pulisic leads all with seven goals). He also has scored nine goals in 37 caps for the USMNT and will be an integral part of the Americans’ run, as long as he stays healthy.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.