The United States men’s national team kicked off its Copa America slate earlier this week with a 2-0 win over Bolivia. A Christian Pulisic banger off of a corner kick in the opening minutes of the game put the U.S. ahead on their South American opponents, while Folarin Balogun doubled the lead just before halftime with a left footed strike that found the far corner.
Picking up three points in the opening game of a tournament is always gigantic — while there is no guarantee that the Americans make it to the knockout stage of Copa America because of this, having to chase points to make up a deficit in the second and third game of group play is never ideal. Just as gigantic: The game was the first start Tyler Adams has made for club or country since March. Adams, who captained the side at the World Cup in 2022, is coming off of an injury-plagued year professionally. Despite receiving a move from Leeds United to Bournemouth last summer, Adams was only able to appear in three Premier League games (one of which came as a member of the starting XI) for the Cherries due to two hamstring surgeries and back spasms.
The engine at the base of the American midfield, Adams tells Uproxx Sports he’s feeling good after starting, playing the first 45 minutes, and getting subbed off at halftime. He didn’t look particularly rusty against Bolivia, either, as he buzzed around in the midfield, kept the ball moving, and got himself involved in duels and defensive actions. It remains to be seen how large of a role he will play in the team’s remaining group fixtures against Panama on Thursday evening and Uruguay on Monday night.
This summer is the unofficial start of a gigantic, two-year stretch for soccer in the United States. Copa America is taking place on American soil this year. The men’s and women’s teams will be represented at the Olympics in Paris, while the United States will co-host the men’s World Cup in 2026 alongside Canada and Mexico. Amid all of that, Adams says it would be “pretty foolish” of the USMNT to do anything but focus on what’s happening right now, and put forth good performances in a tournament that is taking place under some rather unique circumstances.
“It’s great that we’re hosting Copa America, but it’s a CONMEBOL tournament in America, it’s not a CONCACAF tournament, it’s not a U.S. tournament,” Adams tells Uproxx Sports over Zoom. “Some of these games, when we play some of the bigger South American teams, they’re gonna have 90 percent of the stadium full. So, it’s obviously always interesting to play in home soil and not feel like a home game. But that can be a glimpse of what the World Cup will be like, we don’t know. So, I think it’s great to have this little pre-run, but I think we’re more focused on our performances in this and how we can develop, rather than necessarily just the results or not.”
Ahead of the USMNT’s second game in group play against Panama, we caught up with Adams to discuss his partnership with Allstate, the ability soccer has to bring people together, the game against Bolivia, finding his voice as a leader, his thoughts on Thursday night’s game against a familiar foe, and more.
What do you have going on with Allstate?
We started an amazing partnership this summer, and our first addition to that partnership was opening up a mini pitch in Detroit. For me, and just where I’m at in my career, starting these partnerships that are a little bit more about how can we grow the game and help communities rather than the lucrative aspect is always super important to me. So, we obviously worked hard, not only with each other, between myself and Allstate and my team, but also with Black Star, who finds these underserved communities in cities that need resources and access to things, especially through soccer. So, the mini pitch that we opened in Detroit was going to be the first of three, we’re going to do another one next year and one the following year in 2026 in the lead-up to the World Cup. And, yeah, I’m really excited about the partnership.
What was interesting to you about getting on board with this? Because I’ve always thought more mini pitches all over the place just makes a ton of sense, so I was very glad to see that this is happening.
I actually worked with the U.S. Soccer Foundation previously, it was super important to me to open up a couple of mini pitches in my hometown, because it’s exactly like you said, just these things popping up everywhere is gonna give people the idea of playing soccer, which just isn’t the norm in the U.S. I obviously have played in Europe now for six years, and anywhere you go, there’s soccer fields, real soccer fields, and I don’t think we have the luxury of putting real soccer fields everywhere. I think mini pitches are a great start, because they’re easy to install, they’re durable, they can get beat up, doesn’t really matter. But, this gives young players the technique and technical ability they need. But also, it’s just another game that keeps kids actives, and off the streets from doing something else. So, through the U.S. Soccer Foundation, obviously, we put them in and I’ve done it before. And when I talked with Allstate about it, they loved the idea.
I’m interested in soccer as a way to spark widespread social change. Tons and men’s and women’s players are vocal about using the game as a tool for good, we’ve literally had wars paused in the past because of soccer. What is it about this sport specifically that you think has such a unifying and optimistic nature about it?
The bottom line is, it’s the only global sport in the world, it’s the only sport that is played in every single country, no matter where you go. Basketball isn’t played in every every country, baseball is not played in every country. Soccer is literally the only sport that’s played in every single country in the world. And I think that this unites people in a common way — people love to be entertained and go to games, the culture of supporting a team and having something to stand behind. Based off of your religious beliefs, you support certain teams — in Scotland, between Celtic and Rangers. There’s always something to support within soccer. And I think that you see the most diverse ethnicities in soccer, nationalities, you can be of any color, any race, any age, and have an opportunity to play soccer. And I think that’s why it’s so attractive to so many people. And when you just look around the world, and how many places it’s united people, it’s in the driver’s seat for social change, in general.
The phrase “change the way the world views American soccer” has followed you guys around for years at this point. Is this sort of off-field stuff part of it? Or have you always viewed that more as a purely a matter of how we play the game?
I think it started as a way that when we get out on the pitch, what are we trying to achieve? What are we trying to do? What’s the bigger picture? And I think that within the cycle, which has been almost five years now, everyone’s worked towards this common goal of how can we kind of just live by this? When I look at my personal life and what I’ve tried to do, or Christian Pulisic’s personal life and what he tries to do, giving access to all these kids, and being role models for a lot of these kids, is going to help drive that, as well — not just through our play, our play is obviously going to have a huge effect, because people are going to be attracted to the style of play and us winning games and results and all these things. But in general, being good people and doing the right thing and being good role models off the field is hugely important.
I think that’s a good lead into where you’re at right now. And now that you’ve had a few days to chew over and get past the Bolivia game, what’s the vibe like among the guys after getting the three points? Has it been a little more joyous knowing that first one is taken care of? Has it been more businesslike? Or has there not really been a big change among the group?
When we entered tournament phase — so, after playing that game against Brazil, we had a couple days off. And when we came back into camp, and then we we started up in Dallas, the mentality of the group completely changed. It was tournament time. You get that feeling that, not that there’s more pressure on the line. But just we have something a lot more to play for. Friendlies are great, but a friendly is a friendly, these games aren’t friendlies anymore, and it was great to get the three points and start though the tournament opening like that. But the bottom line is, we look at it in a business matter. We checked off game one, we’re headed into game two, and we can’t look past game two yet. So yeah, it’ll be a great opportunity to get another three points tomorrow. But again, it’s gonna take everyone’s focus, the depth of the team, everyone’s playing a certain role at some point within this team. And yeah, we’re looking forward to it.
It was your first extended run since I believe March 30. What were your thoughts on how you played, how you’re feeling today, and just generally, this process of getting back to the point where you are able to get out there and start for club or country?
I feel good, I’m in a good spot, I’m comfortable. In the game, I was obviously comfortable, played well. The connection between myself and other midfielders, the chemistry that we have, is unlike any other team I’ve played. So, I’m always comfortable in that team. And yeah, it’s about building durability, robustness again, which takes time. Being out as long as I was out previously, previous to March, it just takes time. And I’m patient with that, gotta be patient with myself. But quality doesn’t go away, so I was comfortable in that game.
You hear all the time about athletes suffering an injury and having the game taken away from them, and it’s always surprising to me just how much harder that part sounds than the physical rehabilitation. And I guess I’d like to know how do you remain positive in the face of all of that?
For me, it wasn’t really a big deal. Of course, I want to be playing every game, I missed the game and my teammates and supporting them and whatnot. But that time period that I went through, being injured all the time, and just trying to get the body right and the mind right. I had my son, as well, and to be honest with you, it was the best thing that obviously ever happened to me in general, but it couldn’t have even been better timing for that. I don’t think, at one point, that I missed the game during that time period, just because I was spending every single moment with my son. So, not many athletes get to spend the first five months, every single day, with their kid. And those are moments that I’ll never be able to get back. So I’m very grateful that I got got to spend all those moments with him. And yeah, he kept me focused on the bigger picture, which is life, and now I’m able to do what I do again, and I’m enjoying it. So it’s good.
Something that interests me about this U.S. group is how long you’ve all been together, whether that’s with the senior team or with the youth national teams. And when you think back on all the moments you guys have shared together, is there one specific one that you’re most proud of? Or brings you the most joy when you think back on it?
There’s so many moments that we’ve gone through together. I mean, I’ve known some of these guys for 10-plus years now at this point, and I think it’s special that we get to continue to represent our country together. But I would want to say it’s probably after we didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup, that first camp after we didn’t qualify, so many of us young guys got called up to that camp. And I remember getting called up to that camp, and everyone was so dependent on the first performance after that camp. How were all these young guys going to look? Are they ready for it? Are they good enough? What’s the future gonna look like?
And I think we all stepped into a role not really knowing what to expect — grateful for the opportunity, of course, but not really understanding the roles that we might play in today’s U.S. Soccer organization. And I think that we can all say that we did a pretty good job, and there’s a bright future ahead for all of us. But we want to continue to represent the country in a good way. But that first game after not qualifying for the for the World Cup, playing in Portugal against Portugal, an amazing team, obviously that was gonna go on to do big things in that World Cup. It was special stepping on the field with a bunch of young guys, getting a decent result, but I think everyone saw that there was potential in our group.
I’ve been watching the national team forever, and from basically the moment you broke into the team, I’ve always been struck by how you’re always talking, you’re always directing traffic, you’re always keeping tabs on everything that’s happening on the pitch. Was there a moment where you felt like you found your voice as a leader with the national team? Or do you feel like this has just always been the default mode for Tyler Adams?
I would say, yeah, it’s always kind of been default mode for me. I think it’s more, I talk to a lot of people, obviously, because I want the best for them and I want the best for our team. But as a competitor, I know that if I’m organizing, if I’m helping people, not only am I keeping myself focused in the game and what I need to be doing to make sure I’m doing everything right, but I know that by helping players and organizing and putting them in the right positions, it’s going to give our team the best chance to win. So, I always absorb information on the pitch, and being in the center of the field, obviously, you see things in a 360 view. So, I think just from a young age, just being a younger player that was always playing up and being around good leaders, I’ve always absorbed that information and how they led, but I continue to do that. I’m just a competitor at heart. I want to win no matter what. And if I can help that by talking and getting on guys and sometimes being the bad guy, I have no problem doing it.
My last question is about your next game in Copa America. Bolivia and Uruguay aren’t teams you guys play all that often. But Panama is a CONCACAF team. Do you guys anticipate that level of familiarity will make anything around this game different from those two? Whether it’s more physical, whether it’s more tense, or whether it’s easier to maybe settle in and play your game, knowing the opponent the way you guys do?
I actually think if anything, it’s going to be be a negative, I think it’s gonna be even harder. I think that having played against a team so often, you might predict what they’re going to do, and then they might do the opposite. When you predict playing against Uruguay, you have kind of an idea from watching games, like, this is the way they’re going to play, this is their identity. I think Panama is very flexible in the way that they play — they can play with five in the back, they can play with four in the back, they can play man to man. But we’ve had some really tough games against them. They’re an athletic team, they’re a direct team. And I think that the intensity in this game is going to be even a notch higher than our first game. So, I think mentally, we need to be prepared to come in with it, with the intensity and the level and the energy. But yeah, at the end, we need to let our quality show, but it’s not going to be able to show without bringing the intensity to this game.
How easy is it to not get caught up in a game that’s a little bit more intense, and just keep that win and we’re through mindset for the entire 90 minutes?
I don’t think our mindset is to say win and through. It’s going to be based off performances, we need solid performances from every single player on the field to get the result. That’s the bottom line. And when we when we start to think about, let’s get a win and the result, and you start to chase that result, we lack performances. And we’ve seen that in the past — we take that example from Colombia, and a learning curve, where I think we were too focused on, like, let’s get a win and set an example of what we need to do in Copa America. No, we need to focus on each individual performance. Because when we do that, we perform well as a team. And we know we’re gonna be able to compete with anyone, and that that was the example against Brazil. So, we want to stay on that trend, continue to work on that, continue to improve some things from the first game, which I think we still could have done a lot of things better, and then go from there.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
