USMNT has Adams-shaped hole in midfield, no one to fill it - ESPN

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Saturday's match against Germany gave U.S. men's national team manager Gregg Berhalter a chance to try out what he calls his «Plan B» in the U.S. midfield. Otherwise known as: Life Without Tyler Adams.

It's not the first time the U.S. has had to rummage around in its tactical bag to find a way to compensate for the absence of the injured AFC Bournemouth midfielder. Just last June, the U.S. won the Concacaf Nations League without Adams' influence. The situation was similar two years prior, with Adams reduced to a late, 37-minute stint in the extra-time win over Mexico in that year's Nations League final.

But the Americans' 3-1 defeat to Germany on Saturday gives one pause. Neither Yunus Musah nor Weston McKennie delivered the kind of bite and ground coverage that Adams usually provides in midfield, and the center of the U.S. defense was worse for it. The U.S. was more vulnerable than usual on the counterattack, and there was general ineffectiveness in terms of putting in tackles near the top of the U.S. penalty area.

So a question that has been on the collective mind of the U.S. comes even more into focus: What is the best path forward without the Americans' World Cup captain?

Adams has spent much of the past seven months on the sideline. A hamstring injury sustained in March of last season with Leeds United first put him out of action, only for him to require surgery in May. Following his offseason move to the Cherries, Adams made his club debut on Sept. 27 in the Carabao Cup match against Stoke City, playing the last 20 minutes. But he suffered a setback in that match, with manager Andoni Iraola telling the Bournemouth Daily Echo that Adams is «going to be out for some time.»

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