Long Island's Joe Scally set to take the pitch with U.S. National Team at World Cup
LAKE GROVE, N.Y. -- The World Cup kicks off on Sunday in Qatar. The U.S. is making its return after not qualifying for the tournament four years ago.
This time, a hometown soccer phenom from Long Island will be playing for the National Team, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Wednesday.
Joe Scally, who at 19 is the youngest member of the U.S. team, was all smiles when he checked in with his Lake Grove family, which will be joining him in just days.
"Always been a dream of mine since I have been a kid. If you speak to any soccer player just starting out or at any level of the game, to play in a World Cup for your country, so I'm very excited for that and I'm just honored to be here," Scally said.
"We all love soccer growing up and we all watch the World Cup, so seeing him make that team, it really is a dream come true," brother Drew Scally said.
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Joe Scally was success story starting at the age 6. His mom, who was his soccer coach, realized he was bigger and better than his older brother, and everyone else, but was always humble.
"They moved him up a couple of years and he just kept doing well against every age group," Margaret Scally said. "He did as a kid come to me, like an adult, saying, 'Mom, let someone else have their chance.'"
Always focused and with a big heart, Joe Scally signed with New York City FC when he was just 15, becoming the youngest professional American soccer player ever. After overcoming hip surgery, the right back signed with German Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach at age 17. The news came just days ago that he made the U.S. roster, meaning he was one of the best 26 players in the nation.
"It's our first World Cup, so, of course, there are going to be nerves going into the games. But once we are out there we all play at a high level, so we are not going to back down from anyone," Joe Scally said.
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The excitement is also building at his his alma mater, Sachem North High School.
"The whole school is starting to feel the energy of it," boys soccer coach Christopher Russo said.
Joe Scally is a professional soccer player who still managed to graduate high school early.
"He was in Dubai for three weeks and he would come back and he would have all his worksheets done. Everything was made up," math teacher John Glasser said.
Joe Scally last played soccer at the high school level when he was in the seventh grade and was later scooped up by NYCFC, but his teachers say he's an example to students to follow their dreams.
"Joe just went after it as hard as he could, with the passion and support of his family and community and he's done it," Sachem North guidance counselor Ed Manly said.
Watch parties are planned as Joe Scally hits the world stage in Qatar on Monday. The U.S. will face Wales, England and Iran in group play, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stages.