Antonee Robinson relieved to be back with USMNT after knee surgery

Antonee Robinson was fearful that his place on the USMNT’s World Cup roster was in jeopardy following knee surgery last May. He missed the fall international camps as well as several months for Fulham, but has recovered his form enough to be part of Mauricio Pochettino's 26-man squad.

"Overall, I've been doing so much off the pitch to try and get myself right for the summer," Robinson told The Cooligans earlier this month. "It killed me that I played 50 games for the States and then missed about a year-and-a-half playing with the boys. Having to watch us, whether we won or loss, it was killing me not being there. Last camp [in March], was a massive relief for me to be back in the team and then be able to put the jersey on."

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The 28-year-old wing-back is a veteran in this U.S. group. He made his senior team debut in 2018 and has appeared 52 times with the national team. There has a been a lot of change over the past decade, but what has stayed within the program is ready to be put on display during this summer’s World Cup.

"It's hard to describe what it means to see how far we've come because I've been through so much," Robinson said. "I've seen a lot of players come and go. Thankfully for me I came at a time where a lot of young boys were given an opportunity and there's still a lot of the same people who were there on my debut. It's a great feeling. I feel like we've developed a lot. The people were making their debuts at 19, 20 are now fully experienced men who are ready to go into the summer and try and make a statement."

After Tuesday’s live roster announcement show in New York, the team flew to Atlanta to begin training camp ahead of Sunday’s friendly against Senegal in Charlotte, North Carolina, and next Saturday’s tuneup against Germany in Chicago. From there, it’s off to Southern California to prepare for its Group D opener against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Check out the full conversation on the “The Cooligans” podcast — and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.