Antonee Robinson enjoys a season to stay at Fulham, but there is one quality that changes the face of the USMNT
Antonee Robinson has established himself as one of the best full-backs in the Premier League.
The 27-year-old USMNT star enjoyed a breakout season with Fulham in 2023-24, and was named his club's Player of the Season.
Last time he had a career-high six assists, a number that was surpassed by only three defenders. peter Joint, Vladimir Coufal and Kieran Trippier.
Robinson started this campaign in a similar vein and has already recorded two assists, with Fulham sitting in a comfortable eighth place in the Premier League table.
He is arguably the most prominent American star in England's top flight and is set to play a major role for his nation under the new head coach. Mauricio Pochettino.
Robinson's experience in the Premier League, and crashing into stars like Mohamed Salah on a regular basis – will undoubtedly provide a solid foundation for working on the international stage.
Ahead of Pochettino's first game in charge of the USMNT, the winger has already identified the identity the team needs to rediscover to change its fortunes after the humiliation in the America's Cup earlier this summer.
“If you think about the teams that came before us, the United States was always brave, hard-working, horrible to play against, a fighting team,” Robinson said. The Atlético.
“They had good players but overall, as a team, there was a lot of fighting between them. And when we first came together as a team, we definitely had a lot of that.
“I remember coming to the World Cup, playing against England and feeling like we could make it extremely difficult for teams. But towards the end, everything felt a little soft and stagnant. We didn't have that strength.”
Pochettino, who signed a two-year contract with the USMNT in September after his departure ChelseaIt has a reputation for being intense.
He takes charge of a nation coming off a difficult summer after failing to reach the knockout rounds of the Copa América and losing two of their three group stage matches.
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The United States then endured a challenging international break in September under interim coach Mikey Varas, losing 2-1 to Canada at home for the first time in 67 years before drawing 1-1 with New Zealand.
Robinson did not participate in any of those games, but highlighted the “minimum requirement” that the team needs for the future.
“I was watching us play Canada and I felt like they were out-fighting us. I would support us, at our best, as a comfortably better team than them. But first you have to win that fight,” he said. .
“(Canada) did the same thing in the World Cup qualifiers, where they were just unpleasant; it was horrible to play against them. And I think that's something we need to learn a little bit from because we're not the most talented team. So that It needs to be a minimum.”
Robinson hopes to be involved when Pochettino takes charge of the first match, a home friendly against Panama, on Saturday night.
The USMNT will then travel to play Mexico on Wednesday night.
