Who is Tim Weah? Inside the USMNT World Cup roster

Player: Tim Weah
Age: 22
Birthplace: New York, New York
Club: Lille
Position: Winger/Striker
Team role: Starter
USMNT caps: 24

His father is George Weah — the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year and current President of Liberia — but you’d never know it when you first meet Tim. His teammates and friends describe him as humble and someone who wants to earn everything on his own.

And he does. The 22-year-old winger, who grew up in New York and Florida, left home to play in Europe as a teenager and currently stars for Lille in Ligue 1. He started playing with the U.S. at the U14 level and had a breakout year in 2017 at the U17 World Cup when he became the first U.S. male at any level to score a hat trick in the knockout round of the tournament.

Known for his rocket of a shot — that U.S. goalkeepers agree is one of, if not the hardest, to stop on the team — Weah is poised to start in his first World Cup in Qatar. And his father, who never got the chance to play in a World Cup, will be in the stands watching.

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.