As the United States men’s national team prepares for the Concacaf Nations League semifinals against Panama on Thursday, March 20 on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET, the roster will look a little different than usual without players such as Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Sergino Dest and Brenden Aaronson, but there is an important returner to the center of the pitch in Tyler Adams.
Struggling with various back and hamstring injuries, Adams hasn’t been in a USMNT camp since Copa America 2024, which will not only make this his first appearance since July of last year, but if he gets on the pitch it will be his first appearance under Mauricio Pochettino in this new-look side. Adams has long been one of the most important members of the United States setup, captaining the side at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
But now with a chance to win the fourth consecutive Concacaf Nations League title, Adams is back and able to contribute to the team, and it’s something that he’s excited about.
“It’s good to be back in camp for the first time, obviously a new manager. I’ve had a bunch of different managers in my career and now to be able to work with another great one like Mauricio is a huge honor,” Adams said. “I’m excited to understand the processes and his thinking and the way that he looks at the game, but obviously having competed with some of the teams that he has managed before, I know a couple of the styles that he plays.
“So yeah, it’s exciting but before you know it, we’re going to blink and the World Cup is going to be here, so we want to take every training session, every opportunity that we have together with significance and continue to build.”
A leader on and off the pitch, having Adams back will bring a lot to this team but he’s also a player who was previously coveted by Pochettino as well. The Argentine manager has stated that he tried to add Adams to his Chelsea squad and while that didn’t happen, some of those qualities with his defensive acumen and ability to keep play ticking over will help provide a strong presence and familiar balance to the midfield.
Things may be a little different than the “MMA” midfield of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Adams that took the World Cup by storm with Musah now featuring on the wings at times, but that won’t change the impact that he can have. Playing week in and week out for a team in the running for a European spot in Bournemouth has Adams in great form for these games, but it’s nothing that he didn’t expect when he got back to playing regularly.
“Every player healthy or not needs rhythm in their schedule and consistency. And now that I’ve found consistency, I knew that’s all it would take. So for me, it was never a doubt that I’d get back to the level that I’m at,” Adams said. “It just took longer than expected. So yeah, trying to stay in the present moment, stay consistent with everything that I’ve been doing but I feel a lot more robust now just playing consistently.”
That consistency is something that the USMNT have also been trying to find, and if Adams can help bring it to the USMNT, it will go a long way to preparing this team for the World Cup in 2026. With all the players who are in this camp not being able to feature at the Gold Cup in the summer due to Club World Cup responsibilities, it’s important for the USMNT to get everything that they can out of this camp and a healthy Adams can help make that happen.
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