The Captain presented by Verizon: Tyler Adams on Weston McKennie, Bruno Fernandes, and what makes the 2026 World Cup so different

0:00Tyler Adams:You're listening to the Men in Blazers media network, suboptimal radio, Weston McKinney unfurling the best form of his career. I just can't believe how many people count him out time and time again. He's just like, oh yeah, this weekend I might play striker. Bro, you're just playing right back. What do you mean you're playing striker? And then he goes out and plays number 10 and he'll score a goal or have an assist. This guy with his back against the wall is a scary version of Weston.

0:29Tyler Adams:My guest today is a gent I'm elated to see back on Premier League fields even though his return coincided with Bournemouth doing Everton back from injury after a run of form that was the best of his life and ready to return to US service, please God, in March. It's a joy to welcome for another episode of The Captain presented by our friends at Verizon. It's the King of Wappingers Falls, New York. It's Mr. Tyler Adams. Yes, Raj. Good to be back. Thank you. It is so bloody good to be. I'm so happy that you're back in action. Tell us up top, how are you feeling physically, mentally? Yeah, no, I'm in a good spot.

1:07I'm really happy with how my recovery went. I think that there was a longer timetable on the injury when it first happened, but through good treatment and a good amount of rest and time to recover, I'm in a good position and I'm feeling good. So I think I've come back a little bit earlier, which is really, really good for, I think, both myself and the team. And it'll be good to go through this final phase of the Premier League season and get ready for a World Cup.

1:31Tyler Adams:God willing, we will walk through your experience of the past couple of months in a moment. But I know you've just been off on a break during the FA Cup weekend. Most footballers are contractually obliged to be by a pool in like Ibiza or Dubai or somewhere. where you took the Adamses to like Arctic Circle climbs. We went to the Swiss Alps, but it's somewhere that me and Sarah have traveled to a bunch of times when we were in Germany and we thought the ideal place to be would be by a pool and in the sun, like you said. But I think for Jackson, it was really cool to get him in the snow for the first time.

2:04I grew up in the snow in New York, Sarah from New Jersey. So to get him in the snow and sledding and stuff like that, he had a blast. So that's what it's all about.

2:11Tyler Adams:God, I can imagine you just like doing the skeleton in just incredible, reckless pace. but we will not talk about that. It's great to see you on an all-action holiday because the last time we saw you on a football field, early December, was an agony. Second minute against Manchester United. Seemed innocuous in the moment. You were blocking, I think, a Cunha shot and your left knee twisted awkwardly. You were able to walk off under your own steam, but you're torn an MCL. I mean, it was an agony to watch. Take us to that moment, Tyler. Yeah, it's obviously not ideal. You know, you dream of nights like playing in Old Trafford against Manchester United.

2:48Like those are the biggest games that you could play in the Premier League. And, you know, when you're picturing it and kind of visioning what the game could go like, you don't think that in five minutes. And you're going to try and just go through a routine blocking of a shot and something like that happened. And of course, it comes against my former teammate in Mateus Cunha, which I owe him one now. I owe him one. But, you know, for me, it was just it's something that I've been through before. So, you know, I don't think I've ever come off a field in the first half of a game, to be quite honest with you.

3:15So that was strange. But in the moment, I knew it was my MCL. Like it's a typical the ball hits your toe and twist your knee. And I felt a little bit of a pop and I was like, OK, it's probably I'm probably not going to be able to continue. So I knew it was in the best interest of the team to get someone on the field that could actually go out there and compete. So for me, it was it was what it was. I wasn't really phased by it, to be quite honest with you. And I just knew I just had to attack the rehab in the right way so I can come back better.

3:38Tyler Adams:When you go down, you do know immediately the difference between a knock that's going to take you out the game and an injury which is going to have you out for a sustained period like an MCL. Do you know in that second? Raj, I don't go down. So if I go down, it's definitely something like I don't sit there and roll around. I mean, I think there's a type of player that can do that and you'll never know what's wrong. But for me, I mean, I think it's pretty black and white. Like if I'm on the field and I call for a physio on, there's a pretty good chance that I'm coming off of the field. So yeah, in that moment, I knew right away.

4:08But I also knew, I think from experience, that it wasn't as serious as it could be, which also, you know, I think for me in that moment in time was a positive. So I knew right away what it was.

4:20Tyler Adams:I mean, the injury was an agony to witness, partially selfishly. I was in England when it happened. We're actually going to spend some time with you in Bournemouth. But more importantly, the injury occurred when you're in your richest Vima form. Tyler Adams scoring goals, plural. one from the halfway line. I mean, you were banging in the goal of the month, baby. Yeah, that part doesn't faze me. Form is one thing, but knowing what you're capable of is another. And I think I've proved to everyone the level that I can play at. And it's just going to be a moment of time before I return to that level.

4:50So like anything else, just trust in the process, staying patient with myself, going to this rehab in the right way so I can return the best I can.

4:56Tyler Adams:This episode of The Captain is brought to you by Verizon. As an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Verizon knows this isn't just any year. It's a FIFA World Cup year. And they're teaming up with David Beckham and an all-star roster to launch Verizon Ultimate Access for FIFA World Cup 26. Verizon customers will have access to thousands of free FIFA World Cup tickets, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to win golden tickets, for access on the field during gameplay, meet and greets with soccer legends, and more on the road to the tournament. The FIFA World Cup 2026. No one gets you closer than Verizon.

5:34Tyler Adams:I want to talk about the rehab, but I've got a side question. Where does the goal of the month award go? What do you players do with these tchotchkes? Because that is a stealth, super heavy award. Yeah, I'm going to be honest with you. People get on me about it all the time. It's just sitting in my locker still here at the training ground. I mean, I'm not huge on the awards and accolades. I'm going to bring it home. Jackson's going to drop it on himself or something. There's just no need for it to be in my house right now, if I'm being honest with you. So maybe one day when I collect a little bit more silverware, I'll take it home and have a nice little trophy cabinet.

6:05But right now is not the time, Raj.

6:07Tyler Adams:It's a teething toy. It's a perfect, perfect teething toy. So when you leave the field, what do you do? You are an all-in player. That is your style. I mean, is there an anguish in the moment? But at the same time, you've had a number of injuries and you kind of immediately know you're at the bottom of a mountain that you are going to climb. mentally what happened talk us through that the experiences of football in that moment to be quite honest with you nothing really happened I mean people wouldn't believe it but I just I just deal with these things in a different way now I think I'm a lot more mature and wise than I than I once was I mean I went to the changing room and I called my dad like he texted me and he was like you all right and I I got on the phone with him and he's like he's like trust me this is this is nothing you know what I mean like through what you've experienced so far in your career and what you've been through, this is just another hiccup in the road, another block in the road.

6:57Go enjoy time with the family. You get more time to spend with them now. Do you know what I mean? There's so many positives that come from this. Of course, I want to be out there competing with my team. Of course, I want to be helping them win games. And in that moment, we weren't going through the best period. So I felt like, ah, I've let my team down. Like, I really want to get back out there and help them. But the best way to help my team is getting a healthy Tyler Adams. And I think everyone knows that. So for me, it was just a moment to decompress. And I was able to do that, spend time with the family spend time with the kids and now I'm back already in the blink of an eye it goes by fast

7:24Tyler Adams:in the computation of all of this is part of it like oh wow this is a world cup year it's a football calendar always present in your head or is it just that feels so far away to you still let it say it still feels so far away from me I think it's getting a little bit more real I think after the March camp it will really start to you know wind down and you realize okay maybe eight or not on how many primarily games will be left at a time maybe six seven eight games left and you're like, wow, it's not far away now before the World Cup. But for me, it's still so far away. You missed nine games, I think.

7:54Tyler Adams:I mean, it's a lot. You missed the transfer window, seeing players coming and going. What is the dominant experience like for you? I know some clubs, when players are injured, they almost live in a bubble of, you know, separate from the first team. What is it like mentally? You've done a number of these. Do they make you stronger with each recovery process? How do you experience that nine-week window? No, without a doubt. I mean, the club is really good. They gave me, I think, what did I have? Four days free during that window, which was nice. So me and the family were able to go away again and kind of get some sun at that moment in time.

8:26We got some sun. But yeah, the rehab group is really good here. Really detail-oriented, making sure that you kind of attack all your weaknesses throughout that phase and use the time wisely. So I got back on the pitch, I think, in five weeks maybe. So I was in a brace for the first four weeks. And then five weeks, I was running again. And then two weeks after that, training. So I've already been training with the team now for two or three weeks, was on the bench against Everton. So again, it goes by really quickly when you start to look at a calendar and you say, this is the phases of how you should progress.

8:53So yeah, when you look at kind of an eight to 12 week period, I got back in eight weeks at the end of it. So I was really happy with how I recovered. And yeah, that's credit to the staff and obviously my physios.

9:02Tyler Adams:When you're rushing back, how do you balance the excitement to be back and ahead of schedule to boot with the fear of coming back too quickly and possibly, you know, re-injuring? Do you do mental work alongside the physical work? Yeah, I don't have that excitement and anxiety to get back that I once did, I think, when I was a little bit younger. I think when I was a little bit younger, if someone said, you're going to be out 8 to 12 weeks, I said, how do I get back in 4 or 5? You know what I mean? Like, now it's like, okay, how do I get back at the earliest weeks possible in that timetable, but where my body's feeling good?

9:32And I think that the club didn't rush me. The manager doesn't rush me. It's like when you're feeling good is when you're feeling good, and that's when you're ready to play. Like getting the best version of Tyler is when he feels good. So we've been all in communication throughout that process. And like you said, 100 % I do mental work. I found that it's such an important part of the game for me, not only in balancing what happens on the pitch, but also with balancing off the pitch. Like how can I be the best version of myself on the pitch is one thing, but how can I be the best version of myself at home for my kids, for my wife, like all these other things as well is super, super important to me.

10:04And being able to be present in all those moments, because we live a chaotic and hectic life. We're on the road a lot. We're traveling a lot. We're balancing high-stress environments, like all these things. But I've just been able to navigate that and balance that at a high level now, which I'm happy about.

10:16Tyler Adams:The return against Everton, another Bournemouth victory against my boys. You just had to come back for that one, didn't you? Do me again, you mad bastard. The one that you guys got at Vitality was, let me tell you, that's a steal. So we had to go back and get that game. I do feel like as long as I've known you, you've always found a way to do me in like peculiar, particular, quite sadistic ways. But this is not about me. There is a thing in football, match fitness, which seems crazy to civilian life, elite footballers who spend their whole life training, that they need multiple live games to regain their true form.

10:51Tyler Adams:Can you explain it to us? The difference between all the cardio you do in training or even just training games and the cardio and the reality of a Premier League situation and what can't be replicated? Is it mental? Is it the contact? Is it the adrenaline? I think it's a little bit of everything, right? When you're going through a rehab process, everything that you do in individual training is in a controlled environment. There's no actions that are going to be all reactive. Like, how do you react and twist and turn? And how do you deal with contact in this scenario when you're jumping for a header?

11:22Like, all these things. Like, everything you do at your own pace, whether you want to make it game-like or not. So, that's a controlled environment. Then when you get into the training environment, then you're starting to become a little bit more reactive to certain scenarios. The ball, you think the ball is going to go this way, but it really goes this way. How does your body react to twisting and turning like that and playing at more high speeds and more contact scenarios, I guess you can say. And then you go to a game speed environment and match minutes and you realize the emotional aspect of it, the mental aspect of it, playing under the bright lights, reacting to fans, like all these different things and emotions that you feel in a game is all going to make your body react in a certain way.

11:58And it's about, you know, managing that. That's why when players come back, it's not like their first game back is 90 minutes. It's always, you know, 30 minutes and then 60 minutes and then 90 minutes before they're, you know, fully playing 90, 90, 90 again. So I think people find it hard to realize, but there's a huge difference between when you're in a rehab environment and then going into games again.

12:14Tyler Adams:In terms of achieving peak performance after so long out, what's the hardest aspect to regain that we just don't understand, we fans? That's a good question. I mean, I think it depends the injury, of course. I think for an injury like mine, I'm happy that it happened on my left foot because it's, you know, the main part of your knee for when you're passing the ball. So like for me, I can kind of get away with, you know, coming back a little bit earlier because I don't use my left foot as much as my right, obviously. So gaining that confidence and shooting and passing and going to tackles again and stuff like that is something that you need to regain.

12:44But I don't know if you have different injuries like a hamstring injury, like coming back and, you know, really reacting and having to sprint 100 percent to make sure that your hamstring is ready is something that you kind of have to break that mental barrier. So, yeah, for mine, I was quite confident at an early stage to kind of restart the process of training with the team again and playing minutes. But for certain injuries, it's just different.

13:07Tyler Adams:Since we last spoke, Bournemouth have had a world of change. First of all, that human highlight reel Anton Semenyo left, netted a 95th minute winner against the Spurs on his way out and then arrived at Manchester City and scored for fun. It's remarkable to remember when I watch him, January 2023, Anton was still playing for Bristol City and his rise has been superlative. Did it surprise you how quickly he fitted in alongside Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland as if he's always played for Manchester City? No, he's one of a kind, man. I genuinely don't have enough good things to say about him. I think first because I know him as a person, first and foremost.

13:45Like when I came to the club, I had no idea who he was, like no idea, couldn't tell you. And then getting to know him as a person and how humble he is, how much he cares about his teammates and winning and competing and just doing all the basic things like at a really high level, you gain a level of respect for him through training. And then you watch his performances on the field and you're like, hell of a player, man. Hell of a player. He just is an absolute game changer. There's not, and I don't say this lightly, there's not many players in the world that are at that level that you can count on to change the game at any moment in the game.

14:15And for Bournemouth, the way that he grew and developed, kudos to him, man. but he worked his ass off every single day in training and that's why he's doing the things that he does right now for Man City.

14:23Tyler Adams:Amazing thing is, even in Anton Semenya's absence, Bournemouth have found their form again. Some of it down to the remarkable form of Junior Kruppi, who has been on fire, three goals in his last seven, eight goals on the season. His movement, his spatial intelligence are elite. I once asked Harry Kane how he seems to make it look like the ball always comes to him in the area. He said, I honestly just don't know how it happens. It just kind of does. You face Junior Kruppi in training all the time. How does he do it? I mean, I think it's probably like how Harry Kane said. I think it's all natural to him.

14:57His awareness, how he uses defenders to get shots on target and screen things and the finishes that he attempts. Like, people are amazed by the goals that he's scored so far this season. But, like, he does it every day in training. So when he scores these goals in games, I don't think anybody on our team is surprised. I don't think the manager is surprised. The things he tries in training, I wouldn't think to try that in training. Do you know what I mean? I'm far from a finisher like him, but I would not even attempt. I would be like, here, let me pass the ball here. Do you know what I mean? It's just a different mindset, I think, for him.

15:30And he just has that instinct. And he's such a fun player to watch. And yeah, I think there's a lot of root for growth still. And that's kind of a scary thing when you're talking about a 20-year-old.

15:38Tyler Adams:That's why you're leaving the goal of the month medal in your locker room. So you can be like, Junior, I'll show you how to do a halfway line. Junior knows about that. I'm happy he hasn't scored some of his goals in the same month or else I might not be getting that. He's not alone, though. Another team sensation striker has emerged. Ryan, 19, from Brazil. Honestly, watching him at times, it's like Semenyo never left. Irola said, we lost one of the most physical players you can get in Antoine. We needed someone strong. What does it feel like in a mid-season when your team just pulled out of nowhere another ace out of the pack and you've added a new dimension of goals?

16:15I think from my perspective, like I'm no sporting director right now, but it's something that you have to do, right? Like you lose a player for 65, 70 million to Man City, you better replace him or else you're going to struggle. I mean, like, I don't want to say we over-relied on Antoine, but he was such an important part of this team. Like, how can you not rely on someone that, you know, when you can give him the ball against two players and somehow he's coming out of it, scoring a goal or assisting and just creating something from nothing. But so much credit to the team as well because so many players have stepped up in his absence.

16:43And I think we've grown a lot as a team to show how resilient we are with losing him. So yeah, when Ryan came into the team and just watching him train in the first days, you saw, yeah, he's big, he's strong. He's not afraid to go take players on. He shoots from everywhere and can score from anywhere. So they did a good job replacing Antoine. The best they could probably.

17:01Tyler Adams:How they do it over and over again is truly the alchemy of the Bournemouth story. But now you're back. I'm interested, how do you judge your performance, Tyler, like a good performance? Is it just a gut feeling? Do you take it like the energy of the crowd, the manager, or do you not know until you've looked at the stats package after the game and the game on tape and thought, wow, yeah, I was a real difference maker? Oh, the same as I would judge my performance before. You know what I mean? Like when I'm in flow and how I feel, that's the best way to judge how you're playing. And I think when I come back now, it's like, how do I get back to feeling like that again?