USMNT midfielder and captain Tyler Adams spoke about the opportunity the squad may have to compete in the 2024 Copa America. Rumors of the U.S.’s inclusion ramped up following the World Cup. However, Adams revealed it is among a number of tournament the squad can use to improve looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup.
Joining NBC’s pitchside desk in its Premier League coverage, Adams talked about his World Cup. While discussing the need to further improve despite relative success at Qatar 2022, Adams talked about things like the Nations League and Gold Cup.
Then, he brought up a bigger tournament. One the United States has played in just four times before, most recently in 2016.
“It’s very important that we use the upcoming tournament and upcoming games to build that chemistry together,” Adams said. “We missed out on the opportunity to maximize our time together.”
The 2026 World Cup should provide a different chance.
“Now, leading into this World Cup, we have some big tournaments. We have the Nations League. We’re going to have the opportunity to play in Copa America, which is going to be huge for us. If you can have your guys healthy in a tournament like that, you gain experience.”
The 2024 Copa America does not have a set-in-stone location. Ecuador was supposed to host the competition. However, it declined the offer. Peru and the United States both expressed a desire to host the competition.
Tyler Adams hopes for Copa America experience
The United States Soccer Federation is yet to confirm the USMNT’s appearance in the 2024 Copa America. As of now, the only true entrants are the 10 CONMEBOL teams. However, many of the major nations from CONCACAF, including the United States, Mexico and Canada, expressed interest in receiving an invitation.
Adams expressed the desire to play in more competitive games. Despite winning the Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League, the USMNT still faltered against a strong, albeit not perfect, Dutch side. Some fans want the USMNT to pull strings to get into the UEFA Nations League. Others want things like this, appearances in the Copa America against teams like Uruguay, Brazil or World-Cup-winning Argentina.
Regardless, if Tyler Adams is correct, the USMNT has a crucial appearance in the Copa America to look forward to in a year and a half.
PHOTO: IMAGO / News Images
