A Dream Even Ballon d'Or Winners Could Not Achieve, Fulfilled by His Son

Timothy Weah, Son of Liberia President George Weah,
Scores World Cup Debut Goal Wearing U.S. Uniform... Match Ends in Draw

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

George Weah, the President of Liberia, is the first African to win the Ballon d'Or. He excelled as a forward at prestigious European clubs such as AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain (both in France), and AC Milan (Italy). Over thirteen seasons, he played 478 matches and scored 193 goals. However, he did not achieve notable success wearing the national team jersey. Liberia's team strength was insufficient to surpass the African threshold. Even at the age of thirty-five, when he took on the role of player-manager and was responsible for the team's operating expenses, the outcome was the same. They failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, finishing second to Nigeria in points.

The son resolved the grudge that weighed on his father's heart by wearing another country's jersey. Timothy Weah, an American forward (Lille), started and scored his debut goal in the first match of Group B in the 2022 Qatar World Cup against Wales at Al-Rayyan Stadium in Qatar on the 22nd (Korean time). He finished a through pass from Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) with a right-footed, non-stop ground shot. The goal was achieved with a fast sprint, flexible movement, and shooting, all reminiscent of his father. It is reported that President Weah watched his son's scoring moment from the stadium.

Weah chose to play for the U.S. national team because his mother is an American from Jamaica. His father held French citizenship, so he was eligible to play for the U.S., Liberia, Jamaica, and France national teams. He made his professional debut at his father's former club, Paris Saint-Germain. He still plays in the French league. However, he chose the U.S., his mother's country, for the national team. He aims to contribute to the U.S. reaching the Round of 16 in the World Cup for the first time in eight years since the 2014 Brazil tournament.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The United States relentlessly pressed the Welsh defense throughout the match, leveraging Weah's spatial penetration and Pulisic's concise attacking play. However, from the middle of the second half, they lost the midfield battle, and in the 37th minute of the second half, Gareth Bale (LAFC) scored a penalty kick equalizer. Defender Walker Zimmerman committed a back-tackle foul while Bale was receiving a cutback from Aaron Ramsey (Nice). Bale, taking the penalty himself, powerfully struck the right side of the goalpost, shaking the net. The match ended without further changes, and the U.S. and Wales shared second place in Group B, following England, who had crushed Iran 6-2 that day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.