‘Cannot count on Tyler Adams’ – USMNT sent 2026 World Cup warning by Alexi Lalas as captain from 2022 endures Premier League injury nightmare at Bournemouth

The USMNT cannot count on Tyler Adams for 2026 as they continue with their preparations for a home World Cup, says Alexi Lalas.

Adams captained his country at the 2022 finals in Qatar and was expected to play a leading role for the United States heading towards FIFA’s next flagship event – which will be co-hosted by the U.S. alongside neighbours Canada and Mexico.

All-action midfielder Adams has, however, been enduring a tough time in England. He suffered relegation out of the Premier League with Leeds last season, with an injury picked up there taken with him to Bournemouth when completing a summer transfer. The 24-year-old has seen just 20 minutes of Carabao Cup football since then – with another fitness setback being suffered – and Lalas fears the USMNT cannot draw up long-term plans where Adams is concerned.

Lalas has told his State of the Union podcast: From a practical perspective, this kind of kicks the can down the road, hopefully, for Gregg Berhalter in terms of making that ultimate decision as to who to play in that three in the midfield, because there is an odd man out. Now, it opens up another space there. But again, we had feared or talked about it with a caveat, that this is a hamstring that went through a massive type of injury. And if immediately he gets back and he's already in trouble right now, it sucks. And now he's got to get back from a whole other injury and who knows when we are going to see him again.

But I think Greg Berhalter and company now have to start thinking about not just the immediate in the next window, but going into 2026, having backup plans. And it sucks because he is, so far, irreplaceable. But if all that talent and all that depth is to be believed, whether we've recognised or it's just coming to fruition now, somebody has to step up and somebody has to take the place of a Tyler Adams in terms of what he does on the field and the leadership that he brings to this team. Because right now you cannot count on Tyler Adams in the short term. And it has to be said, you cannot count on Tyler Adams for 2026 right now. If it happens, fine, that's great, and I want it to happen. But this is again another serious injury and who knows when he's going to be back to 100%, his club or his country.

Adams has been ruled out for some time by Bournemouth, preventing him from being selected in the latest USMNT squad, and he will face serious competition for his place when returning to action as Berhalter has the likes of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Luca de la Torre, Malik Tillman and Brenden Aaronson at his disposal.