Ream: USMNT 'true representation of America' at World Cup
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- Tim Ream told reporters at the University of Washington that the USMNT's mix of players born at home and abroad — including Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest, children of U.S. service members — is 'a true representation of what America is,' calling the squad 'a melting pot of people, of personalities, of characters.'
- The USMNT was set to celebrate July Fourth at a rooftop bar watching fireworks, with Ream calling it 'doubly special' because of the World Cup and 'triple special' because it's in the U.S.
- Mauricio Pochettino threw out the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game Friday night and has been immersing himself in American culture — Ream said the Argentine manager 'felt something' when 'Country Roads' played at the stadium.
- Ream, who spent most of his career at Bolton Wanderers and Fulham FC in England before joining Charlotte FC, took a pointed jab at his former hosts: 'in a lot of ways, a lot of the people [in the U.K.] don't actually know why we celebrate the Fourth, which is crazy to me because they were a big part of why we celebrated.'
- The France-Paraguay World Cup game in Philadelphia featured a pregame show with Idina Menzel singing the national anthem, performances by The Roots and the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale, and two squadrons of jets from Naval Air Station Oceana flying over Lincoln Financial Field.
- America's 250th birthday celebrations also extended to Houston, where Morocco beat Canada earlier Saturday.
Why it matters: Ream's 'melting pot' framing lands at a symbolically charged convergence — the World Cup on home soil during America's 250th anniversary — and Pochettino's adoption of American culture reinforces the team's pitch that this squad embodies the country it represents, not just plays for it.
