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U.S. men's national team midfielder Tyler Adams has shed light on the key strategy coach Mauricio Pochettino employs to keep his players performing at their peak in the crucial weeks ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
"What Mauricio Pochettino has done is create a feeling that no one's position is guaranteed, and I think that demands a tremendous amount of respect because every single game and every single training session that I am having here in Bournemouth, I'm pushing hard to get better," Adams told Men in Blazers on Tuesday. "This is not only going to impact my time here in Bournemouth but also the bigger picture and my chance to play in the World Cup."
Adams is a regular starter for the Cherries, who have gone unbeaten in the last seven Premier League matches he has appeared in, stretching back to December. He has enjoyed similar success on the international stage, leading the USMNT as captain at the 2022 World Cup — where he played every single minute — and claiming the 2022 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year award. Despite accumulating 52 caps, the midfielder is still kept on edge by Pochettino, who has yet to guarantee any player a spot on the roster this summer.
"I appreciate the sense of uncertainty," Adams added. "I feel like it draws out the best in my performances and pushes me to compete at an even higher level."
Pochettino has engaged in extensive experimentation with both players and formations as he works to assemble the most formidable squad possible, drawing some criticism along the way.
Pochettino's Experimentation Raises More Questions Than Answers
Pochettino has just over a month before he must announce his final 26-man World Cup roster — a squad he needs to see in action together during last-chance warm-up friendlies against Senegal and Germany at the end of May. However, with so many players and formations having been tested, it remains largely unclear who will make the cut and in what role.
Just as it seemed Pochettino had found a reliable formula with the Stars and Stripes using a back three last fall — going unbeaten across five matches in September, October, and November — he overhauled everything last month. The Argentine tactician deployed a 4-2-3-1 in the 5–2 defeat to Belgium and a 4-3-3 in the 2–0 loss to Portugal on March 31, showing no hesitation in shaking things up even against top European sides.
Pochettino has called up more than 45 players to camps since September, casting a wide net and regularly leaving out some of the USMNT's most prominent names, including Adams and veteran forward Christian Pulisic, from his starting lineups.
"No one's special," Adams said last month ahead of the March camp. "When you come into camp, you're a U.S. men's national team player, you deserve to be here. [He'll] make sure that you improve each time you come into camp and feel valued. But at the same time, it's expected of you to put in what you want to get out of it."
Pochettino has also faced scrutiny over some of his more unconventional decisions, including calling up Gio Reyna for the November and March camps. The 23-year-old midfielder, who had previously been frozen out of the USMNT following a falling-out involving himself, his father — USMNT legend Claudio Reyna — and former manager Gregg Berhalter, had logged just 26 minutes of first-team action with Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2026. Despite this, Pochettino described him as a "very special talent and very special player" ahead of the March international friendlies.
The unpredictability of Pochettino's squad selections has been further complicated by a string of recent injuries, including striker Patrick Agyemang, who suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury earlier this month, left back John Tolkin, who sustained an inner knee injury last week that will sideline him for several weeks, and goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, who suffered a season-ending spinal injury over the weekend.