Tactics or mentality? Tyler Adams shares which matters most to the USMNT

But where does that confusion come from? It's a fascinating question and one that points to the cross-cultural exchange at the heart of the game of soccer.

For most Americans, raised on a left-brained sports diet of plays and statistics, soccer formations are a solid: a game board of eleven specific, rigid, unchanging positions who interact with one another in set ways. A center back is someone who defends the goal; a winger is someone who charges down the flank. That's it. Sure, their responsibilities might evolve depending on whether or not their team has the ball, but they're on the field to do a specific job—and that's why questions like "is Dest a wing back or a winger" carry so much weight for American fans. It's how they evaluate his game-day performance.

For Pochettino and his charges, though, soccer formations are a gas. They are expansive, undefined and ever-changing, and they matter far less than the collective mentality of the eleven players on the field. Want to know if Dest is a wing back or a winger? Good luck finding out, because no one on the USMNT can agree on it. Dest categorized himself as a wing back before the Germany game; a few minutes later, his teammate Tim Ream called him a winger without hesitation. They didn't diverge because they don't understand; they diverged because Dest's positional title isn't all that relevant to them. His work is. His mentality is.

As the USMNT prepares for its World Cup debut against Paraguay, then, clever fans will pull away from the nitty-gritty tactical questions posed by the media and start wondering about the team's mentality instead. It's what stars like Adams have already started doing, and it's the best way to truly understand this team.

The USMNT will open its World Cup against Paraguay on Friday, Jun. 12 in Inglewood, C.A.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.