NEWCASTLE, England (AP) 鈥� Tyler Adams had just finished helping Bournemouth extend its Premier League unbeaten streak to 13 on a typically English afternoon where rain fell at the same time the sun was shining at St. James’ Park.
The 27-year-old midfielder had entered midway through the second half of 2-1 win at Newcastle, his second appearance following an injury, as his fourth season in the Premier League winds down. Up next for Adams is his second World Cup, where the co-host Americans will be in the brightest of spotlights amid questions about their readiness.
includes Paraguay, Australia and Turkey. The stark truth is the Americans have lost eight straight games against European opponents, including losses to Belgium and Portugal in March friendlies that Adams missed.
鈥淢aybe a little bit of a wake-up call but we鈥檒l get there in the end,鈥� he said.
Adams was the U.S. captain at the 2022 World Cup and he is well aware of the underdog status, The U.S. is ranked 16th and is a 40-1 long shot to win the World Cup.
Adams says the goal is to 鈥済o as far as any team has before.鈥� The U.S. reached the semifinals of the initial World Cup in 1930 and the quarterfinals in 2002.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the one that obviously everyone remembers,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we can match that and continue to improve 鈥� but for us, we need to obviously continue to try and find a way to navigate playing against big teams.鈥�
Picking the U.S. roster
Coach Mauricio Pochettino announces his World Cup roster May 26, and the U.S. has pre-tournament friendlies against Senegal and Germany before starting the first round against Paraguay on June 12.
Adams has 52 international appearances and he played every minute at the 2022 World Cup but has struggled to maintain fitness since.
He in training with Leeds in March 2023 and that September, requiring a second operation. He returned in March 2024 but was slowed by back spasms and played just three league matches in his first season with the Cherries.
delayed his 2024-25 debut until late October. His current season was interrupted by layoffs after he and a tore his left MCL against Manchester United on Dec. 15.
He missed 12 of 15 league matches before entering in 70th minute of a stirring 2-1 win at Arsenal on April 11 and then came on in the 65th minute last weekend.
鈥淚 wouldn’t say anybody鈥檚 a sure lock for the World Cup,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淭hat’s one thing Mauricio鈥檚 harped on since the first day he鈥檚 come in, is that everyone needs to continue to play well with their clubs to have an opportunity to play with the national team.鈥�
Preparing for 2022 was far different because the Americans had to navigate 14 grueling World Cup qualifiers.
鈥淎nyone that knows what it was like to go through that qualifying process for 鈥�22 knows how enduring it was and at the end, the reward was playing in the World Cup,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淲hereas I feel like we鈥檝e known we were going to play in this World Cup now for years and it鈥檚 just 鈥�- I don鈥檛 want to say it鈥檚 taken its toll, but playing friendly after friendly, it feels strange.鈥�
A familiar group
Adams, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah form an emotional center of a player pool that has been together for more than a decade, going back to youth national teams.
鈥淭im has played with Tyler since he was, I don’t know, 11,” McKennie said. 鈥淎 group of guys that you can count on to get along. Got on to sacrifice for each other, to put in work for each other.鈥�
For Adams, performing as a group is key to a successful tournament.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 that cohesiveness,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 go away from the tactics and the structure and the way that we want to play and just think that, oh, I鈥檓 going to go out there and try and have an amazing World Cup individually because it doesn鈥檛 work like that. So I think it’s the collective structure at the day, but individual performances play a big part.鈥�
and has set a tone with relationships as much as tactics.
鈥淚t鈥檚 less about the football when you鈥檙e in camp, and more about how he can help you grow as a person,鈥� Adams said, 鈥渂ecause he knows that if you鈥檙e relatable, if you are personable, if you a good person in and around the camp, you鈥檙e going to perform well.鈥�
Adams said he thought Pochettino’s experiments with a three central-defender formation have benefitted the team.
鈥淚n the beginning, maybe we were giving up chances easily. It didn鈥檛 matter the opposition,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hereas now playing with three in the back everyone seemed comfortable. A lot of the guys in our team play with three in the back at their club so it felt almost seamless.”
Adams, who is from Wappinger Falls, New York, less than 100 niles north of New York City, hasn鈥檛 played for the U.S. since September. He missed the October friendlies to remain home for the birth of a son, Myles, who joined sister Quinn, then was sidelined by injuries in November and March.
As his health improves, he knows the importance of the U.S. making a splash if it can at this year’s World Cup.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been a while, I feel like, since we鈥檝e knocked off a big boy,” he said. 鈥淚 think we need to try and find that in our character and I think that we will.鈥�
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