Tyler Adams sets Copa America trophy target for USMNT ahead of return from injury-enforced 15-month international exile

The 25-year-old midfielder has not represented his country since captaining them at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. An unfortunate string of hamstring problems, which have forced him to undergo two operations, have led to Adams spending the best part of a year on the sidelines.

He has made a return to domestic action at Premier League side Bournemouth, while also earning a recall to Gregg Berhalter’s plans for the CONCACAF Nations League finals. Adams is looking forward to chasing down silverware there, given how much game time he has missed, and also wants to compete for major honours at another continental tournament on home soil this summer.

Adams has told The Athletic of returning to the USMNT fold: “It’s exciting, man. Really, really exciting. The past year has been really difficult, but those are some of my closest friends on that team. You can’t rush the process. I figured that out the hard way through being injured a bunch of times. (USMNT) has a good run of games and a lot of good competition, and I want to have a big role within the team. Obviously, Copa America is something to look forward to. It’s another big opportunity to play in a tournament. It’s one that we want to pursue and possibly win on home soil. One hundred per cent.”

The United States are set to face Jamaica in the Nations League semi-finals on March 21. They have two friendly dates with Colombia and Brazil to carry them into a Copa America event that will see them face Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay in the group stage.