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U.S. Men's National Team star Tyler Adams said coach Mauricio Pochettino's message has been 'to take it game by game' -Credit:Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The U.S. Men’s National Team is less than a day away from potentially sealing a spot in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32, if they are able to beat Australia in Seattle.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side heads to Lumen Field riding high off arguably their most impressive performance to date under his leadership, beating Paraguay 4-1 in what was at times a tactical masterclass from the Argentine.
The free-flowing nature of their game plan allowed the likes of their most talented players, including Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, and Christian Pulisic, to move around and find pockets of space, often catching their opponents off guard with their positioning.
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Adams was instrumental in the USMNT's 4-1 win against Paraguay -Credit:Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images
Now approaching kickoff in their second game of the tournament, Adams has discussed exactly what Pochettino’s message was following their win during an appearance on First Things First.
“The goal is to take it game by game. We need to respect every single opponent going into every single match,” the AFC Bournemouth midfielder said. “We continue to try and change the culture in America of what this game means to the people.
“And by putting in performances like that, with the effort, with the commitment to one another, with the respect to one another, then we're going to be able to do that. But we have to obviously take it game by game. But this has to be the mentality going into every single game.”
Looking ahead to Australia, who beat Türkiye 2-0 in their tournament opener, Adams said they are expecting it “to be a combative game,” going on to add, “If you see the friendly that we played (a 2-1 friendly win for the USMNT in October), it was a physical game, but that's what we expect.
“It's going to be a completely different game than the first one. But we need to go out and compete, have each other's backs, and that's ultimately what brings us together.”
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Unfortunately for the USMNT, they may have to do without arguably their most prolific playmaker in Pulisic, who is officially “day to day” with a calf injury, which led to him being substituted off at halftime against Paraguay.
The AC Milan attacker has been training alone all week and, while neither he nor Pochettino has commented on his game status, updates from McKennie and Adams suggest he remains a question mark.
“Christian's a key piece of this team,” Adams said. “What he brings to the table is such a unique skill set. There's not many 1v1 players at his level in the world.
“So what you bring to our team is obviously super important. But that being said, I think with the result of the first game, and obviously, where we're at right now, we have so many guys that can play an important role.
“So if he's not ready, he's not ready. If he is, great. He's going to be able to make a huge impact for us. But the thinking has to be the rest of the tournament as well. We need to keep ourselves alive. Go game by game, of course. But we can't put pressure on him, obviously, to play if he's not ready.”
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