sport news USA defender Cameron Carter-Vickers claims President Biden is as motivational ... trends now

‘Go shock ’em all!’.

Not Ange Postecoglou’s latest rallying call for Celtic but the four-syllable order issued by President Joe Biden to the US national team ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

Called up by coach Gregg Berhalter, Parkhead defender Cameron Carter-Vickers was caught on camera listening intently as Biden placed a call from the White House to the squad’s base ahead of the greatest sporting show on earth.

Speaking from his desk in the Oval Office, Biden urged the Americans to ruffle a few feathers in the Middle East, a feat they achieved in qualifying for the tournament’s knockout phase.

Privy to the ‘we-never-stop’ mantra championed by his Australian club manager at Lennoxtown, Carter-Vickers was privileged to be among the select audience addressed by the leader of the free world last November.

Asked to compare the Biden call to a Postecoglou pep-talk, the player said: ‘They’re slightly different. I’d say Ange’s probably have a bit more tactical knowledge of football!

‘They are obviously both motivational people who you can take stuff from.

‘We knew the President was going to be on the call when we went into the meeting room and to have someone like that supporting you definitely gives you a boost.’

Biden may be commander-in-chief of the world’s greatest military force but in ‘soccer’ terms, the US remains an underdog.

Picked for his excellent form for Celtic, first on loan from Tottenham and then following a £6million ($7.2m) permanent transfer last summer, Carter-Vickers sat out the first two drawn group matches against Wales and England, before being selected to start against Iran in the all-important third match.

That night in Doha saw the States claim their sole win in the tournament and qualify for the last 16, where they fell to the Netherlands.

Yet that one taste of victory enriched the experience for the defender who, having just turned 25, can reasonably expect another couple of shots at playing on the world’s top stage.

‘It was a great experience,’ he reflects. ‘Just being at the world’s biggest tournament was great for me personally but I also got to play one game. I enjoyed that and I learned from it.

‘There’s a real tight bond between the coaches and players within that group.

‘With a tournament like that, you’re away for four or five weeks as a group and you have to get on with people otherwise it can be a horrible time.

‘The USA group definitely has that — we get on well and socially it’s good.

‘Americans are generally quite patriotic and you definitely saw that with some of the performances at the World Cup.’

Aside from their remote presidential audience, each player in the States squad was commemorated in billboard form prior to the commencement of the competition.

In Carter-Vickers’ case, that meant a roadside message being posted in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hometown of his father Howard, who was once himself a basketball player of some repute.

‘My dad still lives there,’ continued the defender. ‘I used to spend summers there and I still go over to see him when I can.

‘I have good memories from those days when I was younger, spending time with

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