After facing hostile crowds at home in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Tyler Adams says U.S. players hope to be better prepared in case American supporters are outnumbered at World Cup matches next year.
Sellout crowds of 22,423 at St. Louis’ Energizer Park and 70,925 at Houston's NRG Stadium overwhelmingly and loudly supported the visiting team during the U.S.'s 1-0 win over Guatemala in last week's semifinals and 2-1 loss to Mexico in Sunday's final.
“That’s an experience that they’re going to have because who knows what the World Cup landscape is going to look like in terms of fans and the turnout?” Adams said. “To play in a home tournament and have — feel like it’s an away game in a hostile environment, that’s such a good experience for every single player.”
First-round World Cup matches for the Americans are scheduled for Inglewood, California, and Seattle.
Adams, the U.S. captain at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, spoke Tuesday from Wappinger, New York, where he worked with the lawn-care products firm Scotts to dedicate the Tyler Adams Soccer Pitch at Martz Field Recreation Facility.
Six of the American starters in the three Gold Cup knockout matches didn't play in World Cup qualifiers, where opponents often find difficult field conditions and loud fans.
“Giving ourselves an opportunity to play in a final is progress in and of itself,” Adams said. “So many guys gained experiences throughout the tournament: first time in crazy atmospheres, first time against Mexico in the final, so many firsts for so many players. That is going to be hugely valuable to the group in general.”
Adams said the five-week training camp was integral in getting to know coach Mauricio Pochettino, hired last year to replace Gregg Berhalter after the team's first-round exit at the Copa America. Adams introduced the coach to his family members.
“It creates a bond and a sense of the culture that he’s trying to build within our team,” Adams said. “He sat down after the game and he kind of spoke to us and it really sparked a lot of emotions for him in that final because he knows how hard we worked over the past five weeks and how much more we were hoping to accomplish with winning the trophy. But he couldn’t have been more proud and I felt exactly the same way of the whole group.”
Many regulars missed the tournament and some young players emerged. The first sign of how Pochettino reevaluates his player pool will be when he selects his roster for friendlies against South Korea on Sept. 6 at Harrison, New Jersey, and Japan three days later at Columbus, Ohio.
“Their job just got a whole lot harder,” Adams said of Pochettino and his assistants. “I think he saw a lot of guys grow and grow into big roles and guys that can play future big roles. And, of course, the next year obviously proves a lot, as well. You know, guys have to go back and perform and show that they’re at the level to be there."
Adams will report to Bournemouth on July 26 or 27 during its U.S. preseason tour ahead of its Premier League opener at defending champion Liverpool on Aug. 15.
In the meantime, he gets a few weeks off. Scotts approached him about restoring a field, and on Thursday he and the company launched a “Keep It Real” sweepstakes open through July 24 in which five youth sports organizations will be picked to have Scotts refurbish grass fields with the company's products.
“I mentioned doing something in my hometown where I grew up. They jumped at the idea,” he said. “I’m having the opportunity to sit on a field where I grew up, came to camp to.”
Adams would like to restore more fields.
“I would do 100 if I could,” he said.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
United States midfielder Tyler Adams (4) reacts to being issued a yellow card in the second half of the CONCACAF Gold Cup final soccer match against Mexico in Houston, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
FILE - Tyler Adams of the United States runs on the pitch during the World Cup group B soccer match between England and The United States, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, on Nov. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
BROADVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Four Illinois Democrats toured a federal immigration center outside Chicago on Monday, the latest members of Congress allowed inside immigration facilities after a judge last week lifted Trump administration limits on lawmaker visits.
Six months after they were denied access, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Jesús “Chuy” Garcia entered the immigration processing center in suburban Broadview. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, criticized as a de facto detention center with inhumane conditions, has been at the forefront of an immigration crackdown resulting in more than 4,000 arrests in the Chicago area.
The Associated Press observed the lawmakers enter the boarded-up brick building after talking to a masked official at the door and then leave about an hour later.
“We wanted to test whether or not there would be a violation of a court order reaffirming that we have the right to be here at any time for any reason, without advance notice,” Garcia said afterward.
A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.
After their visit, the Illinois lawmakers reported that Monday seemed like an atypical day with only two people in custody. A day earlier there had been 20, according to Garcia.
During the height of the immigration crackdown dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” more than 150 people were held at the facility, many for several days at a time, according to congressmen, attorneys and activists. Conditions at the center, where immigrants are processed for detention or deportation, prompted numerous complaints, a lawsuit and a court-ordered visit by a judge. Illinois does not have an immigration detention center.
Since then, immigration officials have said they've made changes and those held at the Broadview center have access to hot meals and legal counsel, among other things. ICE has rejected claims that the processing center is used for detention.
While the Illinois Democrats noted improvements, they raised concerns about toilets without adequate privacy, few showers, and no medical staff on site.
“This visit will not end our responsibility. We will follow up,” Jackson said. “We will be back and we’ll demand answers.”
Ramirez said not having a medical professional nearby was troubling, especially after the death of a 56-year-old man found unresponsive at an ICE facility in Michigan. Nenko Gantchev of Bulgaria was arrested in the Chicago area crackdown. ICE officials said it appeared he died of natural causes on Dec. 15, but the official cause remained under investigation.
Since the ruling, House members elsewhere have also visited ICE facilities.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, gained access to the Broadview facility on Friday and reported the practice of holding people overnight seemed to have ended for the time being. He said he had tried multiple times to visit over the past few months.
In California, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez visited a federal immigration facility in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. The Democrat, among the 12 lawmakers who sued, said there was no working kitchen, no on-site medical staff and limited food options, according to a statement.
In New York, U.S. Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both Democrats who also sued, visited an ICE holding facility on Friday at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. In a joint statement, the congressmen said immigrants were being held for as long as three days without access to showers and proper beds.
“The Trump administration’s obsession with hitting an arbitrary — and unrealistic — number of deportations is creating a humanitarian crisis,” Espaillat said.
In Illinois, the Trump administration has kept strict controls on access to the Broadview facility, barring attorneys, family members of those arrested and journalists. At one point federal authorities built a fence around the building as protests grew and clashes with federal agents intensified.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois said she was allowed to visit the Broadview facility late last month. Underwood, a Democratic member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, raised concerns about conditions, staffing and record keeping. She said no arrestees were present during her visit “due to a scheduled security system video camera update.”
A message left Monday for ICE wasn't immediately returned.
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., prepare to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., prepare to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., are allowed to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., and Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., leave after a visit to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
