When the USA played their opening match against Wales on November 21 in this edition of the FIFA World Cup, a son had taken a giant step in his journey to come out of his legendary father's shadow. Timothy Weah made his World Cup debut on that day for USA against Wales, achieving a feat his Ballon d'or winner father could not in an illustrious career.
Son of George Weah, one of the greatest African players of all time, Weah junior not only made his debut but scored a goal against Wales. He even got praise from none other than Brazilian legend Pele. Weah posted a photo of him celebrating the goal on Instagram and Pele congratulated him in the comments section and wrote: "Congratulations. It was a beautiful goal. Keep dreaming, dreams come true."
Meet 22-year-old Timothy Tarpeh Weah, son of George Weah (Ballon d'Or winner and President of Liberia), a professional footballer who plays as a winger/forward for Ligue 1 club Lille and the US national team. He has played his part in taking USA to the knockout stage.
CAREER SO FAR
Weah was also eligible to represent France, Jamaica, and Liberia, through residency and his parents' citizenship. But he chose the USA.
Timothy Weah (Reuters Photo)
After representing age-group teams - U15, U17, U20 & U23, Weah made his senior US team debut in 2018 against Paraguay in a friendly match. Since then he has represented the US national team in 28 games, scoring four goals including the one against Wales on World Cup debut.
At the club level, Weah made his senior professional debut for Paris Saint-Germain in March 2018 against Ligue 1 side Troyes AC. He is currently playing for French club Lille, after signing a five-year deal in June 2019.
PERFORMANCE AT FIFA WORLD CUP 2022
Weah has impressed one and all in the Qatar World Cup so far, and has started in all the three group matches for the USA. He scored a stunning goal for the USA in their opening match against Wales. His 36th minute goal put his team in the lead, before Gareth Bale rescued Wales with a late penalty in the 82nd minute. The match ended 1-1.
The congratulatory message from Pele had a special record tied to it - Timothy Weah's goal was the first against Wales in a World Cup since Pele, who was 17 years old when he did it in 1958. That was the last time Wales played at the World Cup finals before this year in Qatar.
USA drew with England 0-0 in their second game, which kept them in the race for the last 16 stage. Weah almost helped USA score a goal in it, when his cross found an unmarked McKennie inside the English box, but the latter shot it just wide from 10 yards out.
Needing a win against Iran to progress further, Christian Pulisic scored the only goal in USA's 1-0 win. With the victory, USA booked a Round of 16 date with the Netherlands. Weah played his part in that game too. He executed a terrific counter attack, but his goal was disallowed due to the offside rule.
Timothy Weah (AFP Photo)
FAMOUS FATHER
Regarded as one of the best players to never play at the World Cup, George Weah is the current President of Liberia. George joined politics after almost two decades of a professional football career, and is the first African former footballer to become a head of state.
Weah senior was named the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995 and also won the coveted Ballon d'Or. He was the first and still the only player to win these awards while representing an African country internationally. In 2004, he was named by Pele in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
George Weah (Getty Images)
George played 75 international games for Liberia and scored 18 goals. At the club level, he represented big league clubs like AS Monaco, PSG, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City and Marseille.
