It's almost like when you enter a destination into the GPS and it shows you the 15 different routes you can take to get there. And you never want to take the longest one, right? Or the one that you have to pay for the most holes, but even at that time during residency, me and Weston weren't the main players at all by any means. We were sitting on the sidelines sometimes thinking to ourselves. Did we take the right path? Western earned that chipotle. He worked hard for that. It's roger and my lord how I look forward to this moment to welcome back a gen to have long revered on the field in his 7 seasons charging forward with a bandon and determination to make his dreams and our dreams in a way come true, including leading our nation back into the World Cup. Also off the field, he's a reflective gent who's defining his own path with deliberation and remarkable value. We Potter the time when the World Cup is just a 172 days away and we will live out the twists and turns of that Odyssey in terms of who he is. There's a clue in the name of this podcast, Tyler Adams, rude to the cup, presented by Volkswagen. It is a joy to welcome back. Mister Tyler Adams. What's up, roger? Thanks for having me back. Oh, Tyler, you beautiful human being. We are finding you freshly landed in Kansas City after last night's tune up three mil win over fellow World Cup bound team Morocco. It's the first African side you faced as a senior player. What a performance overall by the team. What a good feeling to finally play in opposition that wasn't from Concacaf. We've had this long awaited time where we wanted to face different oppositions and really test ourselves against World Cup opponent. You know, you look at Morocco last night and see some of the names that are on that field and we matched up really well against them. Tyler, that was some opening goal. I loved what Christian politics said about the opening goal after the game. He said I guess for you guys, it might not be easy, but it's what I've done. I've been training this, my whole life. So for me, it's a touch I expect myself to make, yeah, maybe it's not for everyone. Tyler, how many Americans could pull off that first touch in our nation of 330 million. That was a special touch right there. And that's why he's our number ten. He shows up in those moments right there. And that quality that he has the composure to settle the ball and then simply pass it across the gulf of red and aronson. As soon as that ball was played over the top, that's the guy I want receiving the ball. So I was happy. My list, the Americans who could pull that touch off pulisic, rose lavelle. Not a long list. We will talk more about the baby eagles and the USA, but I do want to start by returning to club football, but before we do, remember, this podcast is powered by the GFPs of Volkswagen, the presenting partner for our very own U.S. men and women's national teams. Oh, a brand who truly believe that when we drive something bigger than ourselves, we change the destination. Okay, Tyler, let's relive the finale to Leipzig's campaign for you. First of all, congratulations on lifting the poke out the German cup. Yeah, I mean, three finals in the poke island three and a half years of my time in Leipzig. I'm happy to finally get one under my belt and win that first trophy. The win was all be Leipzig's first ever trophy after years of coming so bloody close but never quite reaching the promised land. Victory against a feisty remarkable Freiburg with ten men you were able to last two extra time, hold on to a one one draw, can you take us into a penalty shootout? What goes through your mind when that final whistle blows? And you know it's going to penalties, you all huddle together, you already know if you're taking one or not. As soon as that whistleblower and we come into the huddle, the coach basically just goes around and says, I was willing to take a PK. Some guys aren't fresh, some guys are confident, some guys are not. We had 5 guys that stepped up immediately and wanted to take the PKs. I was 6th on the list, so I was prepared if it came to that. I was kind of happy that it didn't come that far and we wanted it for. So I'll take that, but I was prepared to if I needed to. We really, I mean, what can you see your mind in that penalty shootout when all the players are just standing there doing the penalty shootout thing, arms round each other, stranded on the halfway line. I'll be kind of fans crapping it. Even neutrals, crappier. We're watching humans essentially play Russian roulette. It's not football. It's a completely different thinker. What do you experience? It's a long walk from Hatfield to the penalty spot, so you have to be prepared for that. Your thought process can change very quickly. You know, if my opportunity came, I just had to be prepared to control the nerves. Do you actually train penalties regularly or just in the run up to big games? For me, just in the run up to big games because normally I'm not the main penalty shooter. So that last week or throughout the pokal before every game we would take them because it could always come to penalty shoot out in tournament format. So I was prepared at the end of the day. You told me before we started taping that you were intending to do a panenka. No, no, no, no. I can't let you know where I'm gonna go because all the goalkeepers that might listen to this, I can't give them my spot, but it's the same spot every time. But it does a victory on penalty shootouts, emotionally. Does it feel different to a win in extra time? The sweet relief, the anxiety winning in a penalty shootout does feel very different because your emotions are so heightened at that time..