The award was revealed during the pregame broadcast of the Aston Villa-Leeds United match earlier today. U.S. Soccer legend Tim Howard – who is a two-time winner of the award – recorded a video that was shown as a surprise to Adams in front of his teammates at Leeds.
“Tim Howard is an absolute legend in U.S. Soccer history and the Premier League as well,” Adams continued. “To hear those words from him was very special, and I’m very thankful.”
The USMNT midfielder was critical to the team’s success at the World Cup and Adams was electric in the middle of the park, his seemingly endless engine earning him Man of the Match honors in the USA’s first two games -- a 1-1 draw against Wales and 0-0 deadlock against
No. 5- ranked England. The youngest captain at the tournament and the youngest USMNT captain at the World Cup since 1950, Adams was one of three players to play every possible minute in Qatar. Against the Netherlands in the Round of 16, Adams became the youngest U.S. captain ever in a World Cup Knockout Round match. The Wappingers Fall, N.Y., native also covered more ground than any other player on the field twice during the tournament, running 8.2 miles against Wales and eight miles in the Knockout Round-clinching victory against Iran.
On the year, Adams led the team with 1,131 minutes played and 14 starts while tying for the USMNT lead with 14 appearances. During World Cup qualifying, Adams played in 13 of 14 matches, tied for the team lead, including 12 starts.
