It has been a long time coming: the U.S. Men’s National Team returning to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2014. After over eight years since the U.S. was on the world’s biggest stage in sports, we were back with arguably the youngest team in the tournament, up against a daunting trio in Group B of the tournament in England, Wales and Iran.

And then, it was over. But not after the youthful Yanks ground out results with a 1-1 draw against Wales, a 0-0 draw against England (who opened the group with a 6-2 thumping of Iran), and an exciting 1-0 victory over Iran through a goal by Captain America Christian Pulisic to propel the Americans to the Round of 16, only to fall to the Netherlands 3-1–who were also returning to the tournament after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

But what has been on my mind though from the very beginning has been the inclusion of the oldest player on the U.S. squad: defender Tim Ream.

The 35-year-old native of St. Louis, MI, was brought into head coach Greg Berhalter‘s roster for the World Cup despite featuring in only one qualification game for the 2022 tournament: a 0-0 draw in El Salvador in September of 2021. In fact, that was the last match that Tim Ream played for the U.S. under Berhalter, seemingly falling further down the pecking order in favor of Walker Zimmerman, Miles Robinson, Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

At the club level for Fulham F.C. in the English Premier League, though, he has proven to be of incredible value in returning and keeping the club in England’s top league, playing over 250 games across seven seasons for the club–regularly as a starter at center back–and is currently serving as their captain. Like U.S. National Team legend Clint Dempsey (who played for Fulham from 2006-2012, scoring 50 goals and taking the club to the 2010 Europa League final, a 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid), Ream is building upon the legacy of Americans succeeding at Fulham FC (fellow U.S. left back Antonee “Jedi” Robinson also plays with Ream at Fulham, and the two started every game together at the World Cup). But none of that seemed to matter as the World Cup approached, with commentators and analysts–and even Berhalter himself–initially suggesting that Ream did not fit into the team’s system of play.

As Ream thrived as Fulham’s leader in the Premier League, injuries to Miles Robinson and Chris Richards opened the doors for the need for another defender, and Ream was selected.

“Have you watched any Fulham games lately? Then you know why he’s here,” Berhalter said while discussing the roster decisions. “It’s really clear. In Tim’s case, he was in the Premier League three years ago and he struggled. The whole team struggled. He went to the Championship and performed better, they got promoted, and now he’s in the Premier League and he’s a top performer in his team. It’s really hard to ignore that.”

And the one the team called “grandpa” didn’t disappoint. Ream started every game at center back, paired with Zimmerman for three games and Carter-Vickers in one, and was responsible for seven interceptions and 114 clearances as the U.S. fought their way out of the group.

Following the defeat to the Dutch in the Round of 16, Ream followed his tremendous World Cup by sharing how the players around him–and all young professionals across all industries and backgrounds–can get to where they want to be in their careers.

No matter where you are at–whether in you are at the store level in retail trying to make it to corporate, working as the office assistant while pushing to join the marketing team, or a young up-in-coming athlete who wants to be on the pitch at the 2026 World Cup–never cease to work your hardest. Never be satisfied with anything other than your best in whatever it is you are doing now, and never take anything for granted.

Be inspired, because you are not simply fighting for your own good. You are fighting for the good of the people around you: your friends, your teammates, your organization, your family, and your country.

*The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar concludes this week, with the semi-final matches being played Tuesday December 13th (Argentina vs. Croatia) and Wednesday December 14th (France vs. Morocco). The Third Place match will be played Saturday the 17th at 10 AM EST and the World Cup final will be played Sunday December 18th at 10 AM EST.