Tyler Adams still can't point to the exact moment the USMNT's 2026 World Cup fell apart. He isn't losing sleep over Alex Freeman's headed ball that fell to Nicolas Raskin inside the American penalty area, or the sequence that led to Matt Freese's error. What stays with him from the 4-1 round-of-16 defeat to Belgium on July 6 is something else entirely.
"It's not one of those things about what went wrong or what was that play or what was that mistake," Adams told The Athletic. "I looked into the stands and I saw people who were emotional about getting knocked out because they really believed. It hurts. It stings. It was more about like, we had so many people believe in us. You want to hear Country Roads after the game again."
That song had become the USMNT's victory anthem through the tournament, starting with the win over Paraguay in Los Angeles. Its absence after the Belgium loss is what Adams keeps coming back to. He says it hurt more than the U.S. exit to the Netherlands in the round of 16 four years earlier.
"I remember getting knocked out against [the Netherlands] and that hurt myself," Adams said. "It hurt all the players on an individual and a team collective level. But you didn't look into the stands and see people that really cared about the U.S. getting knocked out of the tournament."
What Adams Believes Needs to Change
Speaking after a training session at U.S. Soccer's new facility in Fayetteville, Georgia, the 27-year-old Bournemouth midfielder said the group showed real progress in the group stage, particularly against Paraguay and Australia, but looked overwhelmed by the occasion in a must-win game against a top-10 European side.
"The biggest thing for our team is to continue to put players in positions that they've played in big games, that when they're on the biggest occasion, nothing fazes you," Adams said. "And for me, sometimes we just lack that. Collectively. How do we get 25 players that, if they have to play a role, are comfortable in that situation? And that for me is an important thing. I don't know the answer to it necessarily."
Adams pushed back on the idea that grassroots development explains the gap. "We absolutely dominated in a fashion that I don't think any (U.S.) national team has dominated at a World Cup level," he said. "What do we have to do to get the people to believe? I think we got the people to believe now, and now it's a matter of how we keep kicking it up a notch."
Revisiting the Balogun Controversy
The Belgium match will also be remembered for the chaos surrounding Folarin Balogun, whose red card in an earlier game against Bosnia and Herzegovina had its consequences suspended by FIFA, with U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review. The episode became a rallying point for Belgium.
"Still to this day, a very strange situation overall, just because we knew as much as you guys," Adams said. "When we heard the story was breaking, we found out that Balogun was playing. He didn't even know this process was going on. Just a lot of different variables that were thrown into the mix."
Adams said Balogun's availability initially felt like good news for the team, not a distraction. "Why would that affect me? I just got a player that is a crucial player for our team back," he said. "But how does that affect Balo? How does that affect, I don't know, Belgium in terms of motivation? Why would that affect me? If anything, I'm thinking that's a benefit to us, but I don't know. I don't know how that affects the rest of the group. I can only speak for myself."
Balogun had scored three goals in four World Cup appearances before becoming the center of that political storm. Adams praised how his teammate handled the attention. "(Balogun) is one of those players that is ... I don't want to say destined for the spotlight, but he's never searching for it," Adams said. "Everything is organic to who he is as a person. I was extremely proud of how he came off and it was authentic. It was the person we know."
Adams drew a light comparison to his own experience at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he was USMNT captain and faced a tense exchange with an Iranian reporter before a group game. "I don't think what he went through was the same thing as what I went through. I'm going to be honest with you," Adams said, smiling. "That's two completely different situations. Mine could have been a catalyst of a war and his, his could have been just whatever. But no, I think it was definitely a different situation, but I understand the spotlight that he was in for sure."
His Message to the Newcomers
Adams is now one of Mauricio Pochettino's senior leaders, and he made clear his respect for the manager, who is signed through 2030. "I have the highest level of respect for him as a manager, but an even higher level of respect for him as a person because his values align with mine, how he respects and treats everyone," Adams said. "He cares about you on a deeper level. And I think anyone that's been around football knows that's a rare thing."
The squad called up for upcoming friendlies against Peru, Chile, Canada and Mexico includes eight teenagers, among them Philadelphia Union playmaker Cavan Sullivan. Adams, who earned his first senior cap at 18 back in 2017, said he has spoken with Red Bull New York teenagers Adri Mehmeti, 17, and Julian Hall, 18, to help ease their nerves before they joined the camp.
"We're not coming off of a failure," said Adams, himself a product of the Red Bull New York academy system. "They're going to have time now to progress properly and move through the ranks."
But he was equally clear there are limits to how much slack he'll cut anyone. "I don't baby anyone. Trust me," Adams said. "There's no babying anyone. I don't care if you're coming from Dortmund. I don't care if you're coming from Europe. I don't care where you are. When you're in the national team, you're a U.S. national team player. How do we get the best out of you? If I have to go into a 50-50 (tackle) with you, I'm going as hard as I can. It doesn't matter if you're 16, 25, 35 (years old). That's my mentality. That's how I was raised."
"These kids, they just need to understand that it's about doing the work every single day," Adams said. "If you get knocked on your ass, if you make a bad pass, if you do anything, who cares? Next play. That's how you get better. Now that your foot is in the door, this is your opportunity. We don't want to set crazy expectations for anyone, but you have an opportunity, so take it."
