In the lead-up to the U.S. men's national team's return to World Cup qualifiers this week, one word from Tyler Adams stood out.
He said it while reflecting on the USMNT's last window, one which saw the U.S. earn five points after Adams himself set a goal of nine.
It was said while reflecting on a camp that saw the U.S. struggle through two-and-a-half games and it was said after a camp that saw one of the USMNT's best players, Weston McKennie, dismissed for violating team rules.
That word, the one Adams chose, was 'naive'.
The USMNT's lack of experience was on full display in September, a month that saw the team salvage a decent week with a four-goal blitz in Honduras to earn all three points and five out of the possible nine.
That lack of experience led to the lofty aims that the team, ultimately, failed to reach. That lack of experience led to a pair of fairly drab draws, games that Gregg Berhalter said lacked speed and decisiveness. And that lack of experience is what got McKennie into hot water on the eve of a massive World Cup qualifier.
But the fun thing about experience is that you're always gaining it, not losing it. The good thing about lessons is that you have the chance to learn. And heading into three World Cup qualifiers, Adams and the USMNT say they've learned plenty about this process and, perhaps more importantly, about themselves.
“I think that coming into last camp, maybe we were just a little bit naive," Adams said this week. "We didn't really know what to expect. That's why we had to use those first three games as a learning process,”
He continues: "For a lot of us, it was our first taste of what World Cup qualifying was going to be like. For us, the most important thing coming into this camp now is to go game by game.
"We're not focusing on saying, 'Okay, let's get nine points.' I remember, even myself, I previously said, 'Let's get nine points in the window.' Let's focus on each game and what we need to do in order to win each game. And then, I think, that's going to set us up for that for the best success."
Much has changed in the month since the U.S. last gathered. Gone are Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna, perhaps the team's top two attacking stars, due to injury. John Brooks is also out, robbing the U.S. of its most experienced centerback.
Back in is McKennie, who has made amends with Berhalter and the rest of the USMNT. So much so that McKennie will be back in the U.S. lineup on Thursday against Jamaica.
The Reggae Boyz will give the U.S. a test though, even with McKennie. Don't be fooled by Jamaica's difficult start to World Cup qualifying, as they currently sit last after losing to Mexico and Panama before drawing Costa Rica.
This Jamaica team is one that has talent, players like Bobby Decordova-Reid and Andre Grey joining up with MLS stars Andre Blake and Kemar Lawrence.
Since last camp, Berhalter has spoken openly about what he wants to see from his team in this game and in the ones to come: he wants a team that's faster, more vertical, more decisive and, ultimately, more dangerous.
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"To talk about breaking lines and playing vertical doesn't mean you're throwing unnecessary numbers forward," Berhalter said. "I think they're two different things.
"I think we can accomplish the two with having a balanced attack. When I look at our games, we're at our best when we're playing fast, when we're playing behind the opponent, as most teams do.
"I'm not inventing something here.I think anytime you can turn the defense around, it causes problems and it's just about the timing and the precision to be able to do that."
Added defender Miles Robinson: "The training sessions have focused in on trying to play through the opponent rather than around them and I think with the few sessions we’ve had we’ve done a good job in that."
Thursday's game is the first of the USMNT's three-game test, one which will show what they have truly learned from that opening three-game set. It'll be made all the more difficult by the team's absences.
This time around, there's no talk of a nine-point week. There will, hopefully, be no off-field distractions or disciplinary issues either. Instead, Berhalter says he sees a more focused team, one that he believes is now learning what they've signed up for with World Cup qualifying.
“Part of our job before camp was to talk to each and every player prior to arriving into camp," Berhalter said, "and just say to them, ‘Listen, here are the expectations for this camp. This is exactly what it’s going to look like. Here’s what we learned from last window. Here’s what we know about the games.’ And then hear from them, how they processed through the last round. For us, it’s all about learning,”
“What I have noticed from the guys is a different level of focus," he added. "Not getting ahead of ourselves, focusing on one game at a time and going from there."
