National Writer: Charles Boehm<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As well-traveled as Tyler Adams and Tim Weah are, the duo having spent most of their adult lives competing in some of Europe\u2019s top leagues and earning 94 US men\u2019s national team<\/a> caps between them, it\u2019s easy to forget they\u2019re both New York kids at heart.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 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\u2019s camp in New Jersey, where the Yanks are based at the New York Red Bulls<\/a>\u2019 training facility ahead of Saturday\u2019s friendly vs. Son Heung-Min<\/a> and South Korea at Sports Illustrated Stadium.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cA lot of people don’t know Tyler is the one that brought me to Red Bull,\u201d said Weah, who spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn and Queens and logged a year in RBNY\u2019s academy before crossing the Atlantic to join Paris Saint-Germain\u2019s system at age 14, eventually reaching the French giants\u2019 first team and earning a multi-million-dollar move to Lille, where he made his breakthrough at senior level.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m a scout,\u201d deadpanned Adams, who remained at RBNY and blossomed into one of the club\u2019s best-ever homegrowns.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I was playing at Gottschee at the time,\u201d recalled Weah, referring to Blau Weiss Gottschee, the storied Queens youth club that also nurtured Jack McGlynn<\/a>, Dylan Nealis<\/a>, Alex Muyl<\/a> and many other future professionals, and still does today as a member of MLS NEXT.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we smacked them,\u201d interjected Adams. \u201cSo then I was like, Tim, come to the good team\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no, no, no \u2013 we used to kill Red Bull,\u201d Weah shot back with a grin. \u201cAnd 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\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Kyle, my cousin, who currently plays there now. So yeah, the Red Bull days were fun,\u201d said Weah, who moved from Juventus to Olympique Marseille this summer. \u201cI’ve always dreamed of playing in Red Bull Arena, so it’s finally happening. So I’m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The touch of Tim Weah. \u2728 pic.twitter.com\/pusW7Y5Lc3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) September 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Remarkably, Saturday will not only be Weah\u2019s first match at the venue now called Sports Illustrated Stadium \u2013 even if Adams stubbornly declared his allegiance to its original RBA moniker \u2013 but also Adams\u2019 first game there since he left RBNY for their German sibling club RB Leipzig in 2019.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 overall record is a rather pedestrian 6W-5L-1D this year, having fallen short of hardware in both Concacaf Nations League<\/a> and Gold Cup<\/a>, and a combination of results, performances and off-field drama has provoked widespread concern among fans and pundits alike.<\/p>\n Led by Son, who\u2019s made a rousing start to his new adventure in MLS with a goal and an assist in his first four appearances for LAFC<\/a>, the Taegeuk Warriors possess ample quality to punish another subpar outing.<\/p>\n \u201cI’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,\u201d said Adams of Son. \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re going to have to try and minimize him on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 4\u20e3 players will look to earn their first #USMNT<\/a> cap in this September international window! <\/p>\n ???????? Noahkai Banks \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) September 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n 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<\/a>, Luca de la Torre<\/a> and late addition Cristian Roldan<\/a>, who was called in on Wednesday in the wake of his Seattle Sounders<\/a>‘ impressive triumph in the Leagues Cup<\/a> final.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s giving guys opportunities to impress, making sure that he can get eyes on everybody who they’ve been watching,\u201d veteran USMNT and Charlotte FC<\/a> center back Tim Ream<\/a>, another RBNY alum making a homecoming of sorts this week, said on Tuesday. \u201cThat sends a little bit of a message that places are open, and I think that’s only a good thing.<\/p>\n \u201cCompetition can drive you and push you; it prepares you and hardens you for the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Full Flo. pic.twitter.com\/6TFvCiUoCc<\/a><\/p>\nBack where it started<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Matching up with Son<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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???????? Tristan Blackmon
???????? Roman Celentano
???????? Jonathan Klinsmann pic.twitter.com\/Rxmt5g163J<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nCompetition heats up<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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