Meet Tim Weah, son of Liberia’s president who scored first world cup goal for team USA

Tim Weah became the first player to score for the United States in the World Cup in Qatar when he scored against Wales on Monday in the 36th minute. The 22-year-old from Rosedale, New York, made his debut with the United States men’s soccer national team (USMNT) in March 2018, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to make an appearance with the senior team. He went on to score his first goal two months later.

He is now the first in his family to play in the World Cup, as his father did not. George Weah, Liberia’s president, won the Ballon d’Or in 1995. He is the only African player to win the Ballon d’Or but he never reached a World Cup while playing for his country, Liberia.

His son’s goal for the United States at the world cup is the team’s first goal in the event in eight years. Julian Green is the last American to score in the World Cup in 2014. Tim Weah has also become the first American born in the 2000s to score in the World Cup. What’s more, he is the first person to score against Wales in a World Cup match since Pele in 1958.

Tim Weah, who has made his dad proud, could have played for France, Jamaica and Liberia, through his residency and his parents’ citizenship. Born in Brooklyn, his father taught him football, and while in Florida, he played for West Pines United before going for trial in Chelsea. By 2014, Tim Weah was playing for the Paris Saint-Germain, where his father also played. It was at Paris Saint-Germain that Tim Weah started his career as a part of its training academy. He subsequently joined the senior squad in 2018. Tim Weah now plays in France for Lille in Ligue 1. Before that, he briefly was on loan with Celtic in Scotland. 

The skillful American-born, who has an eye for goal, made headlines in 2017 for his hat-trick against Paraguay at the Under-17 World Cup. He described that goal as a “complete banger”.

“Being from America, I play with a lot of heart, that’s one thing that we Americans have and that’s what I try to do and give out there on the pitch every day,” he was quoted by the AFP in 2018.

At the time, he admitted getting “great advice” from his dad and mom but maintained that all that he had achieved were all his. “I still watch his videos, I try to take something from it but the game that you guys see out there is all me. That’s all the stuff that I’ve worked on over the years. I’m almost there but I’ve got to keep pushing, I’ve got to keep working hard…”

While at PSG, he said he learned from star players like Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani. “With this type of player, I just learn maturity, just be comfortable on the ball and be yourself out there, because no one can take that from you,” he said.

“I watch these players all the time. At the World Cup I was watching them and I took some stuff from their games as far as being confident, being skillful (is concerned).”