Tag: Antonee Robinson

Americans in the Premier League in 2023-24

Eight USMNT players are in the English top flight this season

The U.S. contingent on Premier League rosters may have diminished in the last couple of months, but the group is still solid.

Even after Serie A became the summer’s hot new league to play in for U.S. men’s national team players, eight remain on rosters in the English top flight.

With Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson holding it down at Fulham, and moves for Tyler Adams and Matt Turner to stay in the English top flight, four players seem set for plenty of starts in the world’s most highly-regarded league.

On the other hand, a quartet of players face something of a battle for minutes at their clubs, though Chris Richards has at least appeared in cup play for Crystal Palace.

Here are the eight Americans playing in the Premier League this season:

The Americans Abroad Five season review: The best and worst of 2022-23

Some teams were fun, some very much weren’t. Some players broke out, while others broke down

With the European club season in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take stock of the year that was for Americans Abroad.

In many ways, 2022-23 felt like a preamble, a precursor to a much more significant club season to come. For the future of the U.S. men’s national team, what comes next will be more significant than what came before.

That’s because so many vital USMNT players are unsettled due to the nature of their 2022-23 campaign — some are ready to move up the food chain due to standout seasons, while others need a change of scenery for less positive reasons.

Before we turn the page to next season, let’s take a look back by handing out a few accolades for some notable Americans Abroad.

The Americans Abroad Five: Fulham wins the Yankee Doodle Derby

Like it’s been for so much of the season, Fulham’s Americans had a good day and those at Leeds did not

The preponderance of Americans in the Premier League this season meant games like Saturday would always be on the horizon.

Fulhamerica versus Leeds United States of America. The Yankee Doodle Derby. The game that we here at the Five had been salivating over for weeks.

Four Americans started, two on either side. Two more could’ve been involved were it not for injury (Tyler Adams) or getting sacked (sorry, Jesse Marsch).

In the end, like it’s been for so much of the season, Fulham’s Americans had a very good day and those at Leeds did not.

The marquee matchup for fervent Americans Abroad trackers like ourselves leads off this week’s Five.

Gregg Berhalter has two more backers: Antonee Robinson and Matt Turner

After Christian Pulisic, two more USMNT players are offering support to their former coach

Two more U.S. national team World Cup starters have offered their support to Gregg Berhalter, with Antonee Robinson and Matt Turner agreeing with Christian Pulisic’s assessment of the coach’s “extremely unfortunate” situation.

Berhalter coached the USMNT to the round of 16 at the World Cup before his contract expired at the end of 2022. In the meantime, a scandal around his personal life has exploded into public view.

Irked by Berhalter’s treatment of their son Gio, the coach’s close friends Claudio and Danielle Reyna revealed a 1992 domestic violence incident involving Berhalter and his future wife to U.S. Soccer officials.

Pulisic hit out at the Reynas’ “childish” behavior in an interview with ESPN last week, lamenting the position they had put the coach and his family in.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Robinson praised the work Berhalter did with the USMNT while echoing Pulisic’s words about the difficult position into which he’d been placed.

“I think he did a very good job creating a style of play that suited a lot of the players that he brought in,” the Fulham left back said. “Getting a lot of talented players together, obviously quite young guys like Yunus [Musah] started when he was manager. And then [he got us] on the same page, bringing us to the World Cup where we didn’t do as well as we’d have liked to, but we still did I think very well in footballing performances that we’re all proud of.

“It’s situation that’s off the pitch and unfortunate having past things brought up, especially when it’s things that have been dealt with and could influence his life now. So on a personal level and a professional level, that’s unfortunate. I just hope it all gets resolved on his side really quickly and he can move on from it.”

Turner agreed, praising the culture that Berhalter created with the USMNT.

“From the outside, it’s not as clear the connection that he created amongst the group, the selections, the like-mindedness of people,” the goalkeeper said. “And it became this culture that sort of policed itself, which I think can be pretty rare when it comes to national teams getting together.

“We’re grateful for all the work that he put in and think we really did thrive during his tenure, and we’ll see what the future holds.”

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USMNT player ratings: Adams, McKennie, Ream help secure World Cup draw vs. England

A smart adjustment from Gregg Berhalter ends with an impressive draw

The U.S. men’s national team stepped it up against England, securing a 0-0 draw in which they had the better of the game’s few chances.

The USMNT may have been slightly disappointed with one point against Wales, after dominating in the first half and leading until the final stages, but it’s hard to have too many serious complaints after they held the Three Lions to virtually no serious chances.

We’ll have deeper analysis in the future, but during the World Cup we’ll be giving a quick breakdown of each USMNT player’s performance.

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of Pro Soccer Wire’s staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Maradona vs. England in 1986.

USMNT player ratings: Adams, Weah the best from World Cup draw against Wales

The USMNT needed one more standout, and one less mistake

A strong start from the U.S. men’s national team wasn’t quite enough for them to get their first World Cup win since June 16, 2014.

The USMNT dominated the first half and took a deserved lead through Tim Weah, but fell under progressively more pressure and conceded a late Gareth Bale penalty kick, sealing a 1-1 draw that is neither satisfactory nor a disaster.

It’s a bit of a tough game to parse, with many players doing an adequate job, a couple being outright good, and one major mistake undoing their efforts. We’ll have deeper analysis in the future, but during the World Cup we’ll be giving a quick breakdown of each USMNT player’s performance.

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of Pro Soccer Wire’s staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Maradona vs. England in 1986.

The Americans Abroad Five: Tyler Adams is The One

The 23-year-old may be the most important player for Leeds and the USMNT

As Tyler Adams strode off the pitch following Leeds’ madcap 4-3 win over Bournemouth on Saturday, the home fans serenaded their star midfielder.

“There’s only one Tyler Adams!” they sang to the tune of “Guantanamera.”

In bestowing another American player with their own song, Leeds fans were acknowledging how vital and unique the 23-year-old has been for them since his summer arrival.

Adams may be having best season of any American playing in a top-five European league. He’s already one of the most important players on a Premier League team and may be the most important USMNT player when the World Cup kicks off in two weeks.

As much as the Leeds fans love him, if he keeps this up he may not stay at Elland Road for long.

Let’s get to the Five.

Antonee Robinson is ‘trying to get used to playing on one ankle’

The USMNT left back said he feared a long spell on the sidelines after suffering the injury

Antonee Robinson’s ankle injury looks like a good news-bad news situation at the moment.

Robinson is back on the pitch for Fulham, returning two weeks ago after missing over a month with the injury he suffered against Tottenham on September 3.

The left back’s return was most welcome for the U.S. national team just over a month before the World Cup. Robinson is absolutely vital for the USMNT, partially because of his dynamic two-way performances and partially because of the team’s lack of a clear alternative at left back.

But it appears that Robinson’s injury may have been worse than initially feared — and he may not yet be 100 percent recovered, either.

In an interview with The Athletic, Robinson revealed he suffered ruptured ligaments in his ankle against Spurs and said he is still getting used to playing at less than full strength.

“I ruptured one of my ligaments in that game. I was worried, thinking I might have a long spell out. But luckily, I managed to rehab it quite well. I didn’t need an operation and got back,” the fullback said.

“I’m feeling OK. I’m still trying to get used to playing on one ankle, really.

“No matter how I’m feeling, if I can get through a game then I want to be out there, helping the boys. I’m just going to have to get myself back up to match fitness, and the form I was in before I was injured.”

The 25-year-old has gone straight back into the Fulham squad, playing the full match in each of his first two games back. The Cottagers and the USMNT will hope to see him continuing to play while also getting closer to something resembling full fitness.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Getting healthy at the right time

Knock on wood but … the USMNT’s injury situation is looking quite rosy a month before Qatar

If there’s one thing the September window showed, it’s that the U.S. men’s national team desperately needs a select few players to be healthy.

Shorn of the injured Yunus Musah, Antonee Robinson and Tim Weah, the USMNT struggled badly in its two friendlies. Clearly the team’s issues went deeper than that trio’s absence, but the Americans’ awful displays would’ve at least been lifted with their presence.

This weekend saw a number of Americans abroad find the net, but no development was more important than the return to the pitch of Musah, Robinson and Weah.

The USMNT seems to be getting healthy at the right time. Knock on wood.

Let’s get to the Five.

USMNT’s Antonee Robinson back in training for Fulham after ankle injury

At last, some good news for the USMNT

The September window wasn’t a lot of fun for the U.S. men’s national team, but just as the players return to their clubs, Gregg Berhalter got some good news.

One day after Antonee Robinson’s absence stood out as one of numerous issues in the USMNT’s tepid 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia, the Fulham left back delivered a much-needed update on his status.

“Nice to be back out on the pitch,” Robinson tweeted, along with photos of himself going through a workout at Fulham’s Motspur Park training ground.

Robinson last played on September 3, but lasted just 29 minutes in Fulham’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham before departing with an ankle injury. Earlier this month, Fulham manager Marco Silva said Robinson would be back “soon,” and it appears that the international break has done the 25-year-old some good.

Robinson’s health appears to be a significant concern for the USMNT. He’s not just clearly Gregg Berhalter’s first-choice left back, but within the team’s system, his ability to get forward effectively and without any signs of fatigue is a major factor in possession and in breaking into the final third.

Without Robinson in this window, the USMNT labored going forward, and Berhalter ended up looking at moving Sergiño Dest over from right back against Saudi Arabia rather than giving more time to Sam Vines.

Fulham has eight matches for Robinson to work through before the Premier League begins its World Cup break, and USMNT fans will probably be monitoring every single one of them.

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