The huge images of Tyler Adams at many of the host city airports here are part of an ad campaign for a leading bank, in which USA players are asked ‘What would you like the power to do?’ Adams’ response is: ‘Come back stronger.’
There’s a resonance to that, given his recovery from injuries last season to become something of an unsung hero for the USA in their first two games – perhaps appreciated more by teammates than fans.
Behind the deft media-savvy touch – Adams shared a post featuring his family on Father’s Day – is a player who has put in a huge workload for Mauricio Pochettino, as he did for Adoni Iraola at Bournemouth last season. He is the USA’s metronome. The man who makes the team tick – with echoes of the way Lothar Matthaus always pulled the strings for Germany – and one whose rating rarely drops below eight out of ten.
Though the American is only 5ft 9in, Iraola has had him marking players like Erling Haaland and Nick Woltemade at corners because he is streetwise and athletic. His contribution for Bournemouth in their sixth-place finish hasn’t escaped other clubs’ attention. Manchester United like Adams. Iraola, who is a big fan, has considered taking him to Liverpool, though his age – 27 – may just weigh against him, there. Though not top of their lists, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are also considering him. So are Atletico Madrid.
Tyler Adams has become the US national team’s unsung hero at the World Cup
Though the focus in this summer window is increasingly on Alex Scott, his teammate, who Arsenal want and is valued at £80million, Adams, who Bournemouth value around £40m, looks good value as a player who protects his team and brings others into play.
He was second in the Premier League defensive stats tables last season for quantity of sprints per game and total distance covered in sprints. But his capacity for getting the ball upfield quickly and setting moves going is something we have seen from him in the US team.
It is that need to shrug off injuries which has been the biggest challenge. This is why Tim Ream, rather than Adams, was captain in Christian Pulisic’s absence against Australia. Mauricio Pochettino wants the certainty of someone who can last the course of the match. But the example of Bournemouth’s game at Manchester United last December – leaving the field early with the score at 0-0 but the match ending 4-4, perhaps demonstrates the way Iraola’s team have less control when he is absent.
It may be no coincidence that when Daily Mail Sport ventured way off the World Cup map, to the American Football heartland of West Texas, Adams was one of the few US players known to people. ‘He’s a fighter for the team – you could see that. No frills,’ said a dyed-in-the-wool NFL fan in the city of Odessa.
Adams is on a yellow card, so may possibly sit out the USA’s third match, against Turkey, to avoid a second yellow, which would trigger a suspension for the round of 32. But as the focus turns from the attack to the defensive qualities which will come to the fore in the knockout stages, much of the team’s destiny is tied up with Adams.
