'Because of his aura' - Tyler Adams is the irreplaceable leader of the USMNT, which must decide when to let him loose at Copa America

It's been more than a year and a half since the USMNT's 2022 World Cup dream ended. Adams was the captain that day, but was unable to save the USMNT in a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands. And that was the most recent image of Adams in a USMNT shirt: slumped on the field in sadness on a hot evening in Qatar.

Injury issues kept him away from the team for over a year. First, it was a hamstring injury at Leeds. Then, it was another at Bournemouth. The USMNT marched on through all of 2023 without their World Cup captain, who made his triumphant return in the CONCACAF Nations League earlier this year with a stunning goal against Mexico.

Shortly after, another injury. Back spasms this time, putting Adams back on the shelf. In total, he played just four times for Bournemouth all season. That was tough for the notoriously competitive Adams, a player who has always been supremely reliable for club and country.

During his time away, he learned. The birth of his son gave him a new worldview while helping ease the frustration that came with being away from the game.

"It's been tough," Adams told GOAL ahead leading into the Copa America. "A lot of ups and downs in the past year or year and a half, just dealing with injuries, obviously. You go from being a player who can obviously play every game to just having to find this patience and learn how to build up the body in the right way in order to withstand the intensity of these games.

"For me, I'm always positive, man. I just welcomed the son into his world and that changed my perspective a lot, to be honest with you. Having him to come home to every day, there's something bigger for me, so I'm able to do what I do on the field with ease now. Whenever I have the opportunity to do what I love, I just enjoy every moment. I'm working hard to get back to full fitness, and I know it will come."

Despite his enthusiasm, Adams is a realist. He's played just 261 minutes since March 2023, and jumping straight into a tournament as physical as the Copa America is a big ask.

That's why Berhalter is building him up slowly. That's also why these last few weeks of training have been key to Adams' road to recovery.

"I went from playing 90 minutes every game to not being able to play 90 minutes," Adams said ahead of the Bolivia game. "Eventually I'll be able to play 90 minutes again. It's just a waiting game right now.

"I was probably in a better spot in March because I was training with [Bournemouth] for a really long time before they let me play my first game. Right before that March window, it must have been like eight or nine weeks, which is almost like a mini-preseason for me.

"This time around I've obviously only had two or three weeks after this season, so it's a little bit different, but I'm going to continue pushing."

It was something of a surprise, then, to see Adams named to the starting XI for the Copa America opener against Bolivia. It was expected Adams would play some part if needed, but many assumed it would be in a substitute appearance designed to stretch the legs out once the game was, hopefully, long over.

Instead, Adams played the first 45, showing signs that he was getting closer to his old self. The energy was there, as was the defending as Adams helped marshall the field in a dominant U.S. win. Bolivia were never going to threaten the U.S. simply based on talent, but Adams helped make sure there would be no slip-ups in the first half.

At the start of the second, though, he was out, replaced by Yunus Musah. According to Adams, he was planning on playing a bit deeper but, according to Berhalter, that wasn't ever his intention. Berhalter can respect Adams' frustration and his desire but, at the end of the day, he had to make the call.

“Guess what he said at halftime?" Berhalter said. "Want to take a guess? ‘Coach, can I play more?’ And I was like, ‘Dude, we’ve been down this road, man. We don’t need to have this conversation right now. I’m trying to get clips ready for halftime and trying to get some analysis done.'

“Of course, he wants to stay on the field...that’s Tyler. How much he means to the team, you see his attitude and his intensity, and he’s a guy that we want on the field, but we just have to be careful. And the plan from the get-go was 45 minutes, and we stuck to the plan.”

For members of the USMNT, having Adams in the XI matters. He's a security blanket for everyone on the field, someone who can be relied on to do the dirty work many other players aren't willing, or able, to do.

You can add leadership qualities, too. There's a reason Adams was selected as USMNT captain in Qatar, making him the youngest American man to wear the armband at a World Cup. Adams is a player who commands respect, and one who knows what it takes to motivate and lead.

"I think it's one of the reasons that he's considered one of our captains is because of his aura that he has, whether it's him leading from the sidelines or him leading on the pitch," said U.S. defender Chris Richards. "I think he's looked sharp over the last few weeks and we're hopefully looking forward to him contributing."

Since Adams' arrived on the scene post-2018 World Cup failure, there hasn't been a player that could fill his shoes when he wasn't in the XI. The U.S. has had some good midfielders, but none could match the tenacity or energy of Adams. Those are scarce and tough qualities to replace.

Even now, the U.S. cannot replace them, but there are solutions for the moments when Adams can't go.

Chief among them is Musah, who has finally begun his development as a midfielder. After spending so long on the wing at Valencia, Musah was deployed centrally by Milan all season long, which gave him long-awaited reps as a midfielder. His feel for the game has gotten better as a result. You can easily see the difference in his game.

Musah is, of course, a different player, but one that can also do a job as a No. 6 in his own way. While he lacks Adams' defensive skillset, he makes up for it with his own ability on the ball. Musah is a player that you can pass to at any time an trust him to move the ball forward. He's more dynamic in that regard and, to his credit, his defensive skills are improving, too.

"When Tyler wasn't around, I started playing six more," Musah said last week, "and now I'm also playing the six a bit. My role has changed a bit, for sure. I can still play No. 8 if I'm required to. But yeah, at the moment, I think I'm a six. It's a good position, it's still in midfield and I can still manage to control the game and things like that. It's a nice role to have."

With Gio Reyna starting centrally now, the "MMA" midfield is somewhat broken up. However, both Adams and Musah remain key to the USMNT, particularly with the former not yet at his best.

At some point soon, the U.S. will need Adams' defensive steel, even if it isn't necessarily in Thursday's group stage match against Panama. Whether that's against Uruguay in the third group stage game or in the quarterfinals, that moment is coming. Can the USMNT build up Adams in a way that has him ready for that moment? The answer to that question could significantly determine their Copa America run.

This tournament feels a bit different for Adams. Fatherhood has changed him, as has his injury layoff.

His son, who was born in January, has already seen him lift one trophy: the CONCACAF Nations League. However, his time away from the game has changed his perspective on what really matters. Adams has always taken seriously the responsibility to represent something bigger than himself, whether that's his family, his hometown, his club or his country. That responsibility feels different now with a little one watching on.

"There are so many things that I want him to learn for himself, but if there's one thing that you can take from me, it's just the work ethic and mentality to continue to work hard," Adams told GOAL. "Whatever you do, I don't care if you play sports or whatever he wants to do, but as long as you put your best foot forward with 100% work ethic, you can never go wrong with that."

It's been months and months of hard work for Adams and, at times, it surely would have felt that the payoff was too far away. Now he's back. The Copa America is here.

It's a key moment for American soccer and a key moment for the USMNT. And, once again, Adams feels ready to lead the charge for as long as Berhalter will allow him to do so. It's a safe bet that the minutes restriction won't last long. Big games are ahead, and the USMNT will need their midfield bulldog before all is said and done.