Tim Weah's return boosts the USMNT, and gives him a chance to turn the page

ST. LOUIS — Every so often, playing a game of "What If?" feels appropriate. For the U.S. men’s national team, the biggest "what if" in recent memory is this: What if Tim Weah, the universally beloved USMNT winger and one of its best players, hadn’t taken that wholly uncharacteristic red card in the first half of what ended up being a fatal loss to Panama in the first round of last summer’s Copa América?

Would the U.S. have survived and advanced the group as expected? Would then coach Gregg Berhalter still be at the Americans’ helm? We’ll never know for sure, but the answer to both questions is: probably.

Instead, Berhalter paid for the Copa failure with his job. A world-class replacement, former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino, was brought in by U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker.

Now Weah, who missed the September and October FIFA windows because of injury, is back with the national team for the first time since the summer. He was suspended for the first match of this month’s home-and-home series with Jamaica because of his sending off against Los Canaleros, but is expected to play a major role in the rematch at City Park on Monday as his squad tries to advance to the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals.  Four months after the lowest moment of his international career, the opportunity will allow Weah to fully, finally move forward.

"No player wants that to happen," Weah, speaking to stateside reporters for the first time since June, said of his tournament-alerting expulsion. "It played a huge factor in why we didn't go on."

And it took some time to get over it.

"He was devastated with what happened," fellow veteran Antonee "Jedi" Robinson said of Weah. "He’s obviously looking forward to being back and showing what he can do."

"It was tough," Weah admitted. "Having the summer off kind of just put a lot of things in perspective, and kind of just focused on all the positives, just being there for the rest of the guys and soaking in all the love that I can from family. 

"Obviously the negative comments on the internet, I really didn't look at it much, so that kind of helped," he added. "But leading into Copa, we had this big dream of doing something amazing, and it didn't happen. And that was just the reality of it."

There’s a new reality now. Pochettino has brought a doze of optimism to a program that desperately needed it, especially with the 2026 World Cup on home soil approaching ever closer over the horizon.

Without Weah, the U.S. won Pochettino’s first competitive away game last week in Kingston, Jamaica, and will enter Monday’s contest with a 1-0 aggregate lead. Now they get him back with a chance to advance to next year’s final four. 

"He had a couple of days rest so he should have fresh legs, didn't have to deal with the humidity or nothing," joked midfielder Weston McKennie, who is also Weah’s club teammate with Italian titan Juventus. "I think he's gonna help out a lot."

Weah has been in fine form for Juve, with four goals in eight Serie A appearances so far this season, including one last weekend. His return to his usual spot on the right wing could also allow Pochettino to shift midfielder Yunus Musah back to the middle in place of Johnny Cardoso, who was injured in the first leg.

"He's a very good player, very aggressive with the ball, fast, good legs," Pochettino said of Weah, who is still just 24. "He can make a mistake," Pochettino added. "We need to help him, for him to evolve and to learn. But I think he’s a very clever player. Always smiling. He brought very good energy to the group."

Weah has enjoyed working under Pochettino just as much.

"He just has an amazing connection with his players," Weah said. "I’m excited to play for him and get to work."

And put those "What If" questions to rest, too. After all, with a World Cup coming, there’s no point dwelling on the past.

"Now we can focus on something else," Weah said. "Something bigger."

Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.

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