American had displayed a glimpse of his talent during U-17 WC in Delhi
Tim Weah will never forget Walker Zimmerman's moment of madness that denied USA and spoiled his spectacular premiere at Doha on Monday.
A Christian Pulisic pass split through the heart of Wales defence and found Weah on the run. A rather ordinary and usual occurrence on the football field. What followed was out of the ordinary. The 22-year old, instead of cutting across with the ball, decided to go for the kill with one touch. A flick with the outside of his right boot saw the ball veer away from Wayne Hennessey and get wrapped into the comforts of the far corner of the net.
Was it cool? Very much. Smart too, and smacked of complete control of the situation.
Starting his career at the PSG training academy, Weah moved on to Celtic in Scotland before returning to France in 2019. Currently employed at Lille, Weah scored USA's first goal in the global event after eight years. The last American to score in the World Cup was Julian Green in 2014.
Little did Tim Weah know, when he scored a hat-trick in the 2017 U-17 World Cup, that he would put USA ahead on his World Cup debut. His father, George Weah, the current Liberia president and a former FIFA Player of the Year was somewhere in the crowd, maybe reliving his numerous celebratory runs for AC Milan in the mid-nineties.
It must have been a tremendous high for George no doubt, watching the son earn what he could not, a World Cup goal. Incidentally, the junior pipped his father to the post five years ago when he came to India for the U-17 World Cup as partof the Josh Sargent–led US side and scored a hat-trick at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Sargent, too, was part of the US team that was held to a 1-1 draw on Monday night after Zimmerman fell into Gareth Bale's bait and upended the Wales captain inside the box. The former Real Madrid man converted from the spot to deny Weah his first night bow.
"I think it was one of those where he (Bale) probably just puts his leg not for the ball but to try to get in the way of me hitting the ball," Zimmerman said. "Clever move. Wish I would have seen him out of the corner of my eye while trying to clear the ball. It was instinctive. It was quick. Little bit frustrated with that."
With victory snatched away from their grasp, there will be a tinge of sadness but Tim is no drooping willow. Even at 17, he was composed and ready to live under the weight of a famous name.
"I think it's gonna mean the world to him (father George)," Tim Weah told FOX Sports. "Seeing his son on a stage and following in his footsteps is dope. If I had a son or a daughter and I was watching them play in a World Cup, I'd be happy too."
