Jesse Marsch on Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson's World Cups and when he realised Leeds United midfielder could captain America

Chosen as national team captain before the World Cup – something Marsch predicted when he first saw him play as a 15-year-old – the central midfielder has caught the eye, his performances leading the USA out of the group stage causing him to be linked with a move to Inter Milan.

But as Leeds United fans can point out, the work started before that.

Adams had a frustrating final season at RB Leipzig in 2021-22, coming off the bench in more Bundesliga matches than he started.

But since compatriot Marsch brought him to Elland Road in the summer, he has started all but one Premier League match – missing out through injury at home to Fulham – and produced some high-quality performances.

Compatriot Marsch, who gave him his debut as a teenager at New York Red Bulls and worked with him at Leipzig, says the improvement was just about giving him the confidence to be himself.

"When he can play with confidence and intensity and display his intelligence combined, he can be elite," he told the Men in Blazers vodcast.

"I knew that before he came to Leeds and the key for me was just having those kind of conversations to unearth it more and allow him to get on track, and then allow him to be himself.

"I don't want to take any credit for Tyler, he deserves all the credit, but the fit here at Leeds has been really good for him and for us.

"I think it's just got him into a place where he's playing with more confidence and belief than he ever has."

His ten successful tackles (from 11 attempted) saw Adams end the group stage behind only Saturday's opponent Frenkie de Jong according to WhoScored.com but he has impressed off the field with his mature handling of a potentially different press conference before the historically-charged match against Iran.

Marsch has long thought Adams had the quality to be a good USA captain.

"He's true to himself and for a young man his age he's got comfortable with exactly who he is," he explained.

"There are times as a footballer when you have to know how to say the right things but say them in way that represents yourself but then there's other times where you just have to say what you think and his balance of understanding how to do that is really, really good.

"He's a smart kid. I think people underestimate how intelligent he is.

"I texted before the (England) match and I said to him the day I saw him when he was 15 playing for the U17 I literally envisaged him captaining the World Cup team.

"I could see the building blocks of something special.

"It was just presence on the pitch, understanding of what were good plays, what were bad plays, an ability to communicate with his team-mates on ways that were real, just an ease to his every motion. There was no wasted motion on the pitch as a 15-year-old."

Club and international team-mate Brenden Aaronson's involvement in the World Cup has been much more limited, a substitute in all three games, but Marsch thinks he has the maturity to deal with it.

"I think he accepts the role fully," he said. "He knows it's a good group and a good team.

"He can wrap his mind around that role and do it.

"When I texted Brenden before the tournament, that was one of the things I said to him: 'Don't worry about what your role is, just commit to the team, give everything you have. believe in the group, believe in the coach and when you're called upon be ready to make an impact in every way you possibly can.'

"Brenden doesn't require big reminders like that, he's such a good kid, a team player all the way and he'll do whatever it takes."