The FIFA World Cup is weeks away, and the U.S. Men’s National Team will feature a player from Denton County.
Midfielder Weston McKennie lists his hometown as Little Elm, which sits on the northeast shore of Lewisville Lake.
He was announced as part of the Team USA roster Tuesday, and will now get the chance to represent Denton County and the United States on the world stage alongside other U.S. Soccer greats like Christian Pulisic.
“We grew up wanting to play in the World Cup,” said McKennie to U.S. Soccer. “We grew up wanting to be professional soccer players – to have the opportunity to do it on the biggest stage in the world was something that we worked our whole lives for.”
McKennie’s father is a retired U.S. Air Force staff sergeant, which gave McKennie the chance to live in Germany from ages six to nine.
While there, he started playing organized soccer with a local club when he was five.
Upon returning to the states, he trained through the FC Dallas Academy from 2009 to 2016, winning U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championships in 2015 and 2016.
McKennie currently plays abroad with Italian club Juventus. He recently signed an extension to continue playing there through 2030.
He has experience on the U.S. Men’s National Team previously, scoring Team USA’s only goal in his 2017 debut, which ended in a 1-1 draw with Portugal.
According to U.S. Soccer, it made McKennie one of the youngest Americans to score in a first cap at 19 years old.
He was named the U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year in 2020, the CONCACAF Nations League Best Player in 2019-2020 and has been the captain of the USMNT three times.
McKennie’s experience is enough to qualify him for the FIFA team, but it wasn’t until his name was announced that it all started to feel real.
“Coming here and seeing the show that we have here and all the fans coming, I think it’ll start to hit me now more than ever,” he said in an interview with U.S. Soccer. “Whenever you get the message that you’re named to the roster, that’s another big moment where you realize it’s starting.”
McKennie also played with the USMNT during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
According to his U.S. Soccer bio, McKennie is an avid Harry Potter fan and even dons a lightning bolt tattoo. He celebrates each of his goals with a spell-casting hand gesture.
Outside of soccer, McKennie is a self-taught pianist. He said he learned through YouTube tutorials and has built a home music studio for writing and producing music.
To learn more about the U.S. Men’s National Team, visit Team USA’s website.
For more information on the FIFA World Cup ahead of its start, visit the tournament’s website.
