As well-traveled as Tyler Adams and Tim Weah are, the duo having spent most of their adult lives competing in some of Europe’s top leagues and earning 94 US men’s national team caps between them, it’s easy to forget they’re both New York kids at heart.
Reporters got an amusing reminder of that on Thursday when some impromptu reminiscing about their Tri-State youth soccer careers broke out in the final minutes of a media availability from the USMNT’s camp in New Jersey, where the Yanks are based at the New York Red Bulls’ training facility ahead of Saturday’s friendly vs. Son Heung-Min and South Korea at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Back where it started
“A lot of people don't know Tyler is the one that brought me to Red Bull,” said Weah, who spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn and Queens and logged a year in RBNY’s academy before crossing the Atlantic to join Paris Saint-Germain’s system at age 14, eventually reaching the French giants’ first team and earning a multi-million-dollar move to Lille, where he made his breakthrough at senior level.
“I'm a scout,” deadpanned Adams, who remained at RBNY and blossomed into one of the club’s best-ever homegrowns.
“Well, I was playing at Gottschee at the time,” recalled Weah, referring to Blau Weiss Gottschee, the storied Queens youth club that also nurtured Jack McGlynn, Dylan Nealis, Alex Muyl and many other future professionals, and still does today as a member of MLS NEXT.
“And we smacked them,” interjected Adams. “So then I was like, Tim, come to the good team…”
“No, no, no, no – we used to kill Red Bull,” Weah shot back with a grin. “And Tyler, one day, I don't even remember, after a game, I think it was at Aviator [a fields complex in Brooklyn], and Tyler [said], come over to Red Bulls. And Red Bulls at that time was building a really good team. I think it was like myself, Tyler, another player named Matthew Olosunde…”
“Omir Fernandez, Kyle Duncan,” noted Adams.
“Yeah, Kyle, my cousin, who currently plays there now. So yeah, the Red Bull days were fun,” said Weah, who moved from Juventus to Olympique Marseille this summer. “I've always dreamed of playing in Red Bull Arena, so it's finally happening. So I'm happy.”
Matching up with Son
Remarkably, Saturday will not only be Weah’s first match at the venue now called Sports Illustrated Stadium – even if Adams stubbornly declared his allegiance to its original RBA moniker – but also Adams’ first game there since he left RBNY for their German sibling club RB Leipzig in 2019.
The stadium they aspired to as adolescents will now be the crucible for another weighty, high-profile test as the USMNT enter the home stretch in the long countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Yanks’ overall record is a rather pedestrian 6W-5L-1D this year, having fallen short of hardware in both Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup, and a combination of results, performances and off-field drama has provoked widespread concern among fans and pundits alike.
Led by Son, who’s made a rousing start to his new adventure in MLS with a goal and an assist in his first four appearances for LAFC, the Taegeuk Warriors possess ample quality to punish another subpar outing.
“I've had the opportunity to play against him on numerous occasions at Tottenham. We know the quality that he possesses, and he's one of those players that can change a game in an instant,” said Adams of Son. “I think his impact on going to MLS is going to be huge for the league, the growth of the sport, bringing fans to the US from all over the place. But he's a global brand and a global player.
“We're going to have to try and minimize him on Saturday.”
Competition heats up
US head coach Mauricio Pochettino has repeatedly emphasized that no one can take their spot for granted, and called in a roster that reflects his desire to stoke competition and evaluate less-familiar faces in the player pool. That includes MLS standouts like Tristan Blackmon, Luca de la Torre and late addition Cristian Roldan, who was called in on Wednesday in the wake of his Seattle Sounders' impressive triumph in the Leagues Cup final.
“He's giving guys opportunities to impress, making sure that he can get eyes on everybody who they've been watching,” veteran USMNT and Charlotte FC center back Tim Ream, another RBNY alum making a homecoming of sorts this week, said on Tuesday. “That sends a little bit of a message that places are open, and I think that's only a good thing.
“Competition can drive you and push you; it prepares you and hardens you for the coming months.”
Striker battle
It adds up to more moving parts in play than most observers would’ve expected at this late juncture in the cycle. There are positional battles underway in more or less every area of the squad, perhaps most dramatically at the striker position.
Folarin Balogun is back in the fold for the first time this year after making seven starts in 2024, finally back at full speed after a frustrating litany of injuries. Josh Sargent reported to camp in fine form via six goals in his first five matches of the new season at Norwich City, hungry to end an infuriating six-year scoring drought with the national team. Damian Downs, a relative newcomer, arrives fresh off a big move from FC Koln to Southampton on a reported fee of just under $10 million.
“With Mauricio coming in, the objective was clear, that he wanted to bring the group forward. So as players, it's no surprise for us to be competing for places and positions,” said Balogun on Wednesday. “I think it's something we've done all our careers. Everyone wants to make an impression, that's just natural.
“With such a big competition coming in 10 months,” he added, “it’s important to leave your mark.”
