For Gio Reyna and Tyler Adams, a joyful night nods to past struggles and bright futures

Players wearing purple championship T-shirts and gold-colored medals sprayed fizzy beverages on each other during the locker-room party. Defender Chris Richards sported two pairs of goggles pressed against his forehead because “the first one might go into failure,” he said, smiling.

It was a happy bunch of soccer players who, just three days earlier, came within seconds of losing to Jamaica. Coach Gregg Berhalter spoke of his team’s intensity, calmness and “focus, focus, focus” in outplaying their rivals most of the night.

Because the present turned out so well, the Americans were eager to begin pivoting to the future. They will regather in a little more than two months to start preparing for Copa América, the storied South American tournament that will take place at U.S. venues and include six guests from Concacaf, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Until the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. team will not find a better chance to test itself against giants. Uruguay is in its group, and by finishing in the top two, the United States would probably face Brazil or Colombia in the quarterfinals. World champion Argentina is the tournament favorite.

“It’s about really taking advantage of every single opportunity we have because, before we know it, 2026 is going to be here,” Berhalter said.

His team will prepare for Copa América by playing friendlies against Colombia on June 8 in Landover, Md., and Brazil four days later in Orlando. The U.S. Copa opener is June 23 back here in Arlington, Tex., against Bolivia.

The euphoric present and optimistic future brings us to the past, and for midfielders Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna, the Nations League allowed them to put previous injury, struggle and upheaval behind them.

Because of a year-long hamstring problem, Adams had not played for the national team since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He had two surgeries and appeared in one club match between spring 2023 and spring 2024.

Under a minutes restriction, Adams logged 37 on Thursday as a substitute and 45 on Sunday as a starter.

Late in the first half against Mexico, he scored a cracker of a goal from 30 yards. Adams is known for his work rate and leadership, not his goal-scoring prowess. He has two in his U.S. career.

“Nobody was expecting that,” Richards said. “We thought it was about to go into the stands.”

“Row Z,” defender Tim Ream said. “When he lined it up, I actually started to jump back to my position because I thought, ‘Okay, there’s a goal kick coming.’ ”

Adams’s shot took flight and tailed away from goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. After watching the ball splash into the net, he ran to the sideline and leaped into the arms of U.S. players and coaches.

“Gregg is always on me that I should shoot a little more,” Adams said.

His night was over at halftime, though.

“Typical Tyler: We get into an argument in the locker room, and he wants to play more,” Berhalter said. “Guys are asking, ‘Why can’t he play more?’ But we had to stick to it. That’s what we agreed with this club [Premier League’s Bournemouth]. For as much as I wanted him in the game, it’s a safety thing, and I want him to make sure he gets back in a healthy way because he has a lot more games to play.”

Ream said, “Tyler was probably going to fight somebody in the locker room at halftime when he was told he was coming off, even though everyone knew that was happening.”

Adams said he was frustrated with the limited minutes in these two matches, but “it’s about the long term and making sure I’m healthy for more events coming up in the future.”

Newsportus League also allowed Reyna to further shed a controversy between him and Berhalter that began at the 2022 World Cup, escalated in subsequent weeks and involved Reyna’s parents. When Berhalter was rehired last summer, there was some question about Reyna’s future with the program.

On Thursday, in his first postgame interview session with reporters since the World Cup, Reyna said the issues are behind them.

On Sunday, Berhalter said: “When I took over the team again, I talked [with reporters] about needing time, and that was something we both acknowledged. The more you work together, the more he believed that intentions were true and the whole staff had his best interests in mind. We started to gain trust and were very patient with it.”

Reyna said the situation began to improve last fall, when Berhalter was back on the sideline for games again.

“If we didn’t put it in the past,” Reyna said, “it would have been affecting the team.”

Berhalter and the U.S. team need Reyna in a good mind-set because his skills are invaluable to the operation. He assisted on Haji Wright’s two extra-time goals against Jamaica and scored a brilliant goal against Mexico.

When Reyna began celebrating in the corner, players on the field and the bench joined him. Berhalter raced down the sideline, too.

A few minutes later, Reyna left the match. Berhalter embraced him and said something.

“It was along the lines that he was proud of me,” Reyna said. “It was just something nice.”