(The summary courtesy of Kaan 11 – the official broadcaster of the 2022 World Cup. Live broadcasts, summaries, statistics and more are waiting for you on Kaan’s World Cup page).
In the name of the father? Timothy Waugh scored a debut goal today (Monday) in his World Cup debut, when he gave the United States an early lead against Wales, which in the end was not enough for the Americans on the way to a dramatic 1:1 draw.
Watch the summary:
If the name sounds familiar to you, it is of course no coincidence. Timothy Wah is the son of George Wah, perhaps the greatest African footballer of all time, Ballon d’Or winner and President of Liberia. George Wah, who played for Milan, PSG and Chelsea, never made it to the World Cup with Liberia.
His son was born in Brooklyn and became an American citizen. He arrived at the age of 14 in the youth department of Paris Saint-Germain and even made five appearances in the team, but moved to Lille with whom he won the French championship in 2020/21.
Wah himself grew up in the United States and not in Liberia, which led to him choosing to acquire citizenship in another country. He even claimed several times that he is having trouble getting out of his father’s shadow.
Wah himself claimed that his mother influenced him more as a footballer than his father, considering the heavy load on his father as a player and politician. He scored only his fourth goal in the national uniform, and the second in an official game.
The young striker comes off the Lille bench, but scored three goals in the championship season and managed to score three goals this season. He has yet to score in the league this season and joined the distinguished list of scorers for the United States in the World Cup, the first to score since Julian Green and the first born in the 21st century to score for the Stars and Stripes.
Wah is considered a great potential, especially in finishing in front of the goal and with long balls. This season he did not score and did not score in the French league, but in most of his games from the bench he contributed goals to the team which, as mentioned, also won the championship.
Wah is part of the United States team that will host the World Cup in 2026, and at his young age is expected to be central there as well. Waugh admitted that “it’s a warm-up” for the United States, and he will try to play in the World Cup.