World Cup 2022: USMNT stories - Tim Weah, son of heroes

USA will take on England in their second World Cup group stage game this afternoon. The USMNT’s first game ended in a 1-1 draw against Wales. England’s first game was a 6-2 victory over Iran. All of this was good news for the USMNT, as it could have seen them tie England, beat Iran, and then advance on a goal differential. But Iran beat Wales earlier today, 2-1, which means the USA likely need a win today, yes or yes.

Follow along with the USA vs England game with our live text coverage right here on AS USA.

In USA’s tie with Wales, it was forward Tim Weah who scored their only goal in the first half, when Christian Pulisic broke through and ran through open space to find Weah, who then passed it through the Welsch defenders and past the goalkeeper and into the net. The goal made him an instant star for America. Even still, there is another member of his family who is possibly even more famous still.

Who is George Weah?

In the audience to witness that goal were Tim Weah’s two biggest fans and his own biggest inspirations, his parents, George and Clar Weah. George Weah must have felt immense pride seeing his son follow in his footsteps. In the 1990s, George, a Liberian native, was a top player in Africa. In fact, he is the only African to have ever won FIFA’s World Player of the Year award as well as the only African to win the Ballon d’Or.

Tim Weah described the moment he, as a young kid, realized who his dad was to the rest of the world. They were just walking in the mall and a man asked his father for a photo.

“I went back home, went on the internet, and I started reading up, and I found out that my dad was one of the greatest players to ever play the game,” he said.

Not only was George Weah an incredible soccer player, but since 2018, he is also the President of Liberia.

“I’m watching my dad, I’m seeing what he’s done in the past with his career, and then coming back home to help his people and become the president, I mean, there’s not a lot of people who can do that,” said Tim Weah. “To see your dad, who is a black man, have so much success and want to give back to his people is amazing.”

Who is Clar Weah?

Weah is fortunate to have two loving and supportive parents. His mother Clar, who is Jamaican, was his first soccer coach. She sacrificed her own dreams to give Tim the opportunity to pursue his love for soccer.

“My mother came from nothing,” said Tim. “She had to fight for everything even just to have some food on the table at night.”

Weah said that witnessing how far his mother has come and how much she has achieved when she started from nothing, has given him the inspiration and strength to push through difficult challenges and be the best he can be.

“My mom was my first coach, my intramural coach,” he said. “That was the first time I learned the game with somebody, was with my mother. She’s definitely the one that started everything for me.”

Tim Weah making his parents proud in the World Cup

George Weah never got to make a World Cup appearance, which makes his son’s presence in the Qatar 2022 World Cup even more special. And for Clar, it makes all her sacrifices, taking her son to practices and across the country, worth it to see how far he has been able to come thanks to her support.

“Parents don’t get enough credit,” said Weah. “I want to give my mother and my dad their flowers while I can.”

“Having two parents who came from nothing, from countries that weren’t properly developed, it’s amazing to see how far they’ve come and it just pushes me and makes me want to continue doing it for them.”

Weah is one of 25 out of 26 USMNT players with no World Cup experience until now, and he’s taking what he learned from his first game into the game against England, knowing that they have to play hard for both halves and not let the intensity die down.

Weah’s father George, knows how the US can get it done: “They have to make sure the jersey is wet, and is dirty. That’s how to get victory. And score more goals.”