Tyler Adams to play USA vs. Brazil; Josh Sargent out

ORLANDO, Fla. — United States captain Tyler Adams will be available in a limited role for the friendly game against Brazil on Wednesday but forward Josh Sargent will miss his second straight match ahead of the Copa América, despite coach Gregg Berhalter saying that the forward is “progressing well.”

Adams, 25, played just one club match from March 2023 until this past March 13 because of a torn right hamstring that needed surgery. After returning to play two matches for Bournemouth in March, the midfielder was limited by back spasms to one game over the rest of the season, an 11-minute appearance on May 11.

“Tyler will be available to play limited minutes and my guess is it’s under 45 minutes that he’s able to play,” Berhalter said during a media availability Tuesday.

Sargent, 24, scored 16 goals in 26 league games with Norwich in England’s second-tier League Championship but finished the season while playing with foot swelling.

“Josh is progressing well,” Berhalter said. “He won’t take part in this game.”

Berhalter said his team is focusing more on the performance, rather than the result in Wednesday’s friendly.

Adams, for his part, said: “I feel great, ready to play a role.”

The U.S. midfielder added that when he reported to USMNT training camp, he was over the back spasms that plagued him during the latter part of the Premier League season with Bournemouth. But the U.S. training staff insisted that he take a go-slow approach.

“I felt good coming into camp and ready to train, but they were like, ‘No, no, no, let’s just build it up properly,'” Adams told ESPN. “Because again, the most important thing for me is obviously to have a good Copa America, but [also] to get into preseason ready to go. I just want to get in a fit place where I can have an 8, 9, 10 week buildup into the start of the season and be in a really good place to become robust again.”

Adams said that despite his extremely limited minutes this season, he doesn’t anticipate that he’ll show any rust.

“I prepare in a certain way that’s different from other people,” he said “I’m constantly going through the repetitions in my mind and when I’m on the field and able to play, I’m constantly doing extra work to make sure that I’m sharp. So even here right now, it’s hard to find the balance of obviously not overloading yourself, but again, I’ve worked with the medical staff closely enough that they know how I train and how I play. So I treat every training as if it’s a game, so I’m ready to go when I’m followed upon.”

The match is the second and final preparation game for the U.S. before Copa América, which starts on June 23 for the hosts with a match against Bolívia. The U.S. suffered a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Colombia last Saturday, and Berhalter is keen to see his side rebound, even as it faces the five-time World Cup winners.

“I think that the message to the team after the Colombia game is not chasing a result, [but] chasing a performance,” he said. “So if we look after the game and we see 11 guys, 16 guys performing at eight out of 10 level, that would be enough. Brazil’s a very good team, but for us it’s about how do we perform at our highest level against teams like this?”

Berhalter added: “I think the natural tendency would be to say, ‘OK, now it’s only about the result,’ but the reality is it’s a friendly game. We are preparing for a tournament. We want to gain information on Brazil, and our own players, so we have to be brave.

“We have to continue plan and obviously a lot of pressure from the outside after a 5-1 defeat at home, but for us, again, it’s about preparing this group for Copa América, which is the most important thing.”

Delivering an improved performance starts with making better decisions on the ball. The last 25 minutes of the Colombia match saw the U.S. play into the teeth of the opponent’s defensive pressure, both on the dribble and with their passing.