Tyler Adams World Cup diary: ‘Everything’s starting to click again’

Tyler Adams is early.

Ten minutes before we are set to meet at Rick Stein restaurant, a trendy seafood hotspot on the water in the upscale Sandbanks neighborhood of Bournemouth, Adams strides through the door in a simple white tee and baggy jeans with a bounce in his step. He is early not because it’s an off day or because the location is minutes from his home. Adams is early because that’s who he is.

“For me, it’s always been mind over matter,” says the 27-year-old from Poughkeepsie, New York. “That’s something that my mom taught me from a young age. Just to compete at a high level, whether you’re having a great day or a terrible day on the pitch, competing at a high level with the desire to win, that’s my mentality. That’s the household I grew up in with, with three brothers. It comes from my dad. It comes from my mom. All very competitive people. And I always want to win. The game is really demanding and it’s getting more and more demanding … but it’s a mentality for me.”

Just 14 hours earlier, Adams completed his first full match in nearly three months after suffering a torn MCL against Manchester United on Dec. 15. He commanded the midfield in a 0-0 tie against Brentford, AFC Bournemouth’s ninth consecutive match without a defeat. It was another step in his journey toward the biggest competition of 2026: the FIFA World Cup.

“I think when I came back from the injury, I thought I would have probably been a little bit further ahead of where I was,” Adams said. “I think there was a little bit of an adjustment period just getting back in the flow and the rhythm of things. The first couple of games, I was a little bit rusty, so I’ve had to be patient with myself. Trust the process. I think being the level of player I am, playing at the level I am in the Premier League, when you jump back into the Premier League, you need to be ready to go or you get made like a fool.

“I think the biggest thing for me is that I have these expectations for myself. But having gone through it before with even longer injuries, I probably gave myself a bigger runway to come back and prepare and give myself that period of preparation. Whereas here, you get thrown into the deep end sometimes, you’ve just got to make sure you’re able to swim and stay afloat. But after playing my first full 90 [minutes] and in 10 or 12 weeks, man, it felt great. I just felt in my rhythm, in my flow, in my element. Everything’s starting to click again. I’m getting back up to speed.”

Adams takes a seat at a large table near the water. His grin and energy are palpable — it’s as if the arrival of March and warmer weather have brought with them a fresh hope for what lies ahead. With only nine matches remaining in the Premier League season, Adams hopes to play a key role in the Cherries’ drive for their first-ever qualification for UEFA competition, while also figuring heavily in the upcoming U.S. men’s national team friendly matches at the end of March in Atlanta against Belgium and Portugal.

The following is Adams’ third diary of the season exclusively with Andscape, filmed March 4 in England.

What sets the Premier League apart is, top to bottom, the strength in the Premier League. You see how few points separate the top to the bottom of the table. And I think that’s unlike any other league. You can play a team that’s in relegation and it feels like a derby [local rivalry] every single time you play them. You know what you’re getting when you’re playing teams that are in Champions League spots. Obviously, the quality of players that teams can bring in has to do with the amount of money that the Premier League has … but it’s demanding every single week. There’s no holidays, that’s for sure.

Everyone would describe playing midfielder in a different way, because I think there’s so many different types of profiles for this position. Specifically, I think when you look at other positions, you know their job. You look at a forward and you’re like, their job is to score goals. And on our team, when I look at the way that we play, you are the metronome, you bring the energy, you’re a destroyer, you start transitions, you’re kind of a focal point.

What I’m good at is breaking up transition plays and stopping the opponent from scoring goals, and also springing attacks, starting the plays. What I’m trying to improve on now is really starting to set the tempo of the game. How can I slow the game down? How can I speed it up? How can I make the right decisions in the right moments? And I think that’s something that’s so interesting about the position I play, because you can always improve. From an awareness perspective, teams tactically set up so they can stop the opponent. So you need to be aware of how you can break that down in a tactical standpoint.

My relationship with manager Andoni Iraola is really good. It began the moment I first talked to him when I was going to sign my contract, when he laid out the plan of what he wanted Bournemouth to look like in the next five years.

We have a relationship that goes a little bit further back, as obviously he played for New York City FC and I played for New York Red Bull. Unfortunately, it was not at the same time. I didn’t have the opportunity to play against him. But that overlap, when I was growing up, he knew who I was and I knew who he was. I watched the games, sitting in the front row at Red Bull Arena when New York City [FC] would come over for the Hudson Derby.

I think it’s a pretty unique experience to now play in the Premier League, coached by someone that you had the opportunity to get to see play in the MLS. He challenges me every single day. It’s obviously a role that he’s familiar with, as he played a similar position. He understands the game tactically at such a high level, and he challenges me to make sure I’m making the right decisions on the field. He gets me in uncomfortable positions to be able to grow and develop. So we have a good relationship and he’s a great manager.

I would aim more on being a true “No. 6” [a defensive midfielder, acting as the primary screen for the backline and a pivot point between defense and attack]. I think there’s a lot of players that can play multiple positions … even look at our Bournemouth squad with players like Alex Scott or Ryan Christie. I would say those are hybrid players. They defend and attack really well.

I think my strength is defending. This year, somehow, I’ve managed to score a couple of goals, which is not always in my arsenal, but it’s something I’m trying to add to my game. I have that edge, but what I’m really, really good at is on the defensive side of the ball. I take pride in that.

When I look at role models, I look at N’golo Kanté for how he changed the game for the Premier League and what it stands for to be a defensive midfielder. Like, everyone’s looking for that next N’golo and I feel I fit that profile more than players that are more hybrid.

In the NFL, I’m most like Jalen Ramsey probably. … I like that mentality. I think he’s just got a little bit of that dog in him. I think he’s one of those players that that brings the energy for his team. And he’s just a hell of a player.

The way Bournemouth plays, it’s chaotic, fun to watch, energetic. It’s unlike any team that I’ve really played for. I’ve played in a lot of teams that play “high-tempo” football. But I think when you’re able to do that in the Premier League for 90 minutes, it says something about the way that you play, the fitness levels that you must have, and the mentality to keep pushing.

We rely so much on substitutions in our team — to be able to come off the bench and make a big impact — so top to bottom, the level of the team that we have is really high. But the way that we play is chaotic, and that’s what we want it to be. The way that we train is chaotic, so that every single Saturday we go into a game and it only feels chaotic for the opponent, not for us.

As a team, we have a great chemistry, and I think that extends to off the field. The changing room is unlike any other. We have a camaraderie in the team where guys are hanging out off the pitch — and I don’t say that lightly, because I think people have this expectation that you all just hang out off the field because that’s what you do. There’s guys on our team that go for coffee. We don’t have any cliques in our team, which is which is really rare. I can go and speak to a guy that only speaks Portuguese and, somehow, we figure out how to have a conversation. That’s what we love about this club and that’s what we’re trying to grow and develop.

But that translates to on the field as well. Alex Scott and Ryan Christie — my midfield teammates — they know my strengths and weaknesses. I know their strengths and weaknesses. How can we get the best out of each other? And at the end of the day, we love to compete and win. We’d do anything for each other on the field, and it’s like war when we go out there together.

I think the mindset for the squad is to continue pushing. When you start to talk about Europe [finishing high enough in the Premier League standings to qualify for a UEFA competition], I think it becomes really difficult because you put this expectation into the year that “we should be a European team.” People have to understand how difficult it is to be a European team in the Premier League, the hardest league in the world. I played in Germany before — I understand what it took to finish top four in Germany. And from my perspective, the Premier League is even a notch above and even more difficult. So to be competing with all these great teams, it’s not always easy.

For me it’s about taking it game by game, trying to achieve more than what we achieved last year, which we had an unbelievable team in 2024-2025. To do that would be to take a step for the club in the right direction. And we just want to continue that trajectory.

Does my role change for the U.S. men’s national team?

Tyler Adams is Tyler Adams. What I do on the field I don’t think can be easily replicated by everyone. I have an important role [on the USMNT] as not just a leader and a player, but also as a person in the team. I think the consistency that I think I’m able to bring to any team is at a high level, but I think now it’s about being able to continue that for a long time in big games, important games, to be trusted.

I mean, I hope to be in Atlanta [at the U.S. team’s upcoming friendly matches against Belgium and Portugal]. I haven’t spoken with the coaches or anything like that yet. Obviously, the key for me to being chosen was getting back and playing games, which I’m able to be doing now. We have two more games before the international break, but those would be two great games to be a part of in preparation for the World Cup.

With 100 days to go until the World Cup, it definitely feels more real. But at the same time, whether it’s 100 days or 10 days away, it still feels so long. I think the preparation that goes into it every single day for me, to continue to get your body in a position to become more robust, strong, prepared for the moment, is the focus, but it’s also not losing sight of the amazing opportunity I have here in Bournemouth to continue to strive for things that the club wants to achieve. It’s going to be an honor if I have the opportunity to represent my country in the World Cup, but it still feels far away from me.

Between having our second kid, and it being a World Cup year … that wasn’t planned the best. You know what I mean? No, I’m kidding. But I think in terms of timing and everything like that, I don’t think I was 100% prepared of what it “being a World Cup year,” quote unquote, would really mean from a marketing perspective. And off the field, how much time you have to commit to these shoots and these long days. At some point, I feel more like an actor than a football player. But, I think that comes with the territory. It’s a huge opportunity, obviously, for a lot of these brands to collaborate and do things during this amazing time before the World Cup.

But it’s also really, really demanding and it takes a lot of time away from spending time with the family on off days. Whether you’re just trying to go to a cafe and grab a coffee with the family for say 30 minutes, it’s like, “No, sorry, I have to shoot that day. It’s my off day.”

So it’s really finding that balance throughout this really exciting time — to make sure you’re doing all the right things, being able to stay present in the moment and also enjoy it at the same time.

The post Tyler Adams World Cup diary: ‘Everything’s starting to click again’ appeared first on Andscape.