CARSON, Calif. – Mauricio Pochettino faces a dilemma as he prepares for his debut tournament as the United States men’s national team head coach: How do you replace Antonee Robinson, one of the top players in the squad, now that he’s been ruled out of this week’s Concacaf Nations League Finals due to an undisclosed injury?
Spoiler: There’s nobody like Robinson, who has been a dependable left back for Fulham and the USMNT for years now. He’s dominating in the Premier League, where he’s currently tied for second with 10 assists this season, and most recently played the full 90 minutes in a win over Tottenham on Sunday. He was also voted U.S. Soccer’s male player of the year in 2024.
The U.S. plays Panama in the first CNL semifinal at SoFi Stadium on Thursday, while Canada and Mexico face off in the second match. The third-place game and final take place Sunday. On Tuesday, Robinson was forced to withdraw from USMNT camp — along with midfielder Johnny Cardoso and center back Auston Trusty — due to injuries. The Columbus Crew’s Max Arfsten subbed in for Robinson on the roster, but it could take more than one player to fill his shoes.
“I guess you’ll find out tomorrow,” defender Tim Ream quipped ahead of Wednesday’s training session when asked how the team will compensate on the left side. Ream played alongside Robinson on Fulham’s back line for nearly five years and knows him better than most.
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“Obviously, there’s nobody like Jedi and it is extremely difficult to replace what he brings to the team,” Ream said. “So I don’t think anybody who is going to step in should try to be him. But there will be potentially a different way of doing things and now whoever is playing there, we’ll have to play to their strengths.”
Ream plays left back for Charlotte FC, where he signed a two-year contract last August, but has traditionally played center back for the national team. He’s comfortable playing on the left in Pochettino’s system, though he doesn’t anticipate that being the plan.
“If push comes to shove, you know, then it’s not a problem,” Ream said. “You won’t see me flying up and down the wing the way Jed does. But I mean, yeah, I can do the job.”
Other options Pochettino can consider include Arfsten, who earned his first two USMNT caps in January, or Joe Scally, who has stepped up at right back while Sergino Dest has been recovering from a knee injury. Scally is more of a stay-at-home defender, but was asked if he’d be capable of coming up more into the midfield in Robinson’s absence.
“We like to be very variable in our buildup so the opposition can’t really defend us,” Scally said. “So we’ll see.”
Don’t be surprised to see Cameron Carter-Vickers on the back line at some point over the course of these two games as well. This is the Celtic center back’s first camp under Pochettino since coming back from his own ailment. Now that Carter-Vickers is healthy, Pochettino will want to get a look at him in person.
“He adds a little bit different dynamic to the rest of us — he brings a bite,” Ream said of Carter-Vickers. “He’s also good on the ball at the same time. He’s played in some high-level matches in the past couple of years. So he brings a lot of experience from a club standpoint, maybe not as much as some of us at the national team level, but he adds a new-ish face. If he steps in, he knows the role and we all know what he’s capable of.”
No matter what Pochettino decides to do, he’ll have to get creative.
“It’s next man up,” Ream said. “The way we train, the way we work, the way we look at video, everybody knows everybody’s roles and I think that allows for different players to play in different positions if need be. That obviously will be the case with these games here.
“It’s next man up, and that person knows their role and what they’ll need to do to be successful.”
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Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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