Who is Tyler Adams? Inside the USMNT World Cup roster

Player: Tyler Adams
Age: 23
Birthplace: Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Club: Leeds United
Position: Central midfielder
Team role: Star
USMNT caps: 32

A tireless running, ball-winning defensive midfielder, Adams is perhaps the most irreplaceable player on the U.S. roster. Mature beyond his years, he’s a leader on and off the field.

Adams has been in some of the best form of his young career this season with Premier League Leeds, and he also boasts experience in the vaunted UEFA Champions League, having scored the goal that sent RB Leipzig to the semis in 2019-2020, his first full season in Europe after starting his career as a teenager with the New York Red Bulls in MLS.

A Red Bulls academy product, Adams scored his first goal for the club in his debut at senior level, in a preseason match against Chelsea when he was just 16.

Adams is a candidate to wear the captain’s armband for some or all of the Americans games in Qatar.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.