{"id":689392,"date":"2026-06-07T07:31:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T07:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/689392\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T07:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T07:31:13","slug":"antonee-robinson-shows-just-how-vital-he-is-for-usmnt-world-cup-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/689392\/","title":{"rendered":"Antonee Robinson shows just how vital he is for USMNT World Cup hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 This was the sort of thunderclap that served as a perfect precursor to the U.S. men\u2019s national team\u2019s month in the spotlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not the result against Germany, a 2-1 loss<\/a> that counted as encouraging given the resilience the USMNT showed against one of the tournament favorites.<\/p>\n

But, as a singular moment, Antonee Robinson\u2019s 37th-minute first-time volley, which rippled the back of the net for the Americans\u2019 first goal, marked as good an individual effort as you could see on a soccer field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Robinson scores a goal like that a week from now \u2014 if anyone does \u2014 it will end up being one of the highlights of the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"UnitedUnited States defenders Antonee Robinson, left, and Tim Ream celebrate after Robinson scored a goal during the first half of an international friendly soccer match against Germany in Chicago, Saturday, June 6, 2026. AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all the energy was in this shot and that goal,\u201d USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino said. \u201cAfter, cramps in his hamstring [causing Robinson to come off in the 61st minute].\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, it helps in the first game of the World Cup. I think it\u2019s always important for the player to score and to feel strong and the confidence to show. The first thing when he was out there, \u2018Coach, it\u2019s only cramps. I\u2019m OK, I\u2019m OK.\u2019 I said, \u2018We\u2019ll see. Now you need to rest.\u2019 We need to travel to LA now and then tomorrow, recover, and we start Monday to train and prepare for the Paraguay game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In clarifying that Robinson experienced only cramps, Pochettino may have created at least a degree of worry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJust cramps. Hope that it\u2019s cramps,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I cannot be sure. It\u2019s what they say. I cannot [confirm].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson, it almost goes without saying, is one of the most pivotal pieces of the USMNT, an unquestioned starter and someone the offense often flows through.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even after a down year with Fulham in England\u2019s Premier League, in which he dealt with injuries that kept him out of the national team fold until March, Robinson is still capable of excellence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That goal he scored Saturday was just his second of the season, the first coming on a spot kick for Fulham late in the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AntoneeAntonee Robinson of the United States celebrates after scoring his team\u2019s first goal during the international friendly match between United States and Germany at Soldier Field on June 06, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images<\/p>\n

It matters little, at least as it relates to the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As long as Robinson can walk, he\u2019s a player capable of creating a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what he did Saturday. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the USMNT will expect him to do in the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Members of the USMNT\u2019s 1994 World Cup team were honored on the field pregame.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 This was the sort of thunderclap that served as a perfect precursor to the U.S. men\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":689393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,403,99,21,19,22,20,25,47812,132455,24,84938,153412],"class_list":["post-689392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-mens-national-team","tag-us-soccer","tag-usa","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=689392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/689393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=689392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=689392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=689392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}