US Men Set to Play Panama Sat 9 pm TNT + Mexico Tues 10 pm TNT
The US men prepare to play their first games under new manager Mauricio Pochettino with his complete new staff on hand for this first group of games vs Panama (who beat us last time) and @ Mexico. Of course the US will be missing a bunch of players as Tim Weah, Chris Richards, Fologan, Gio Reyna and more are all missing to injury. I will have more as we get closer to game time – including my starting line-up. (stories below) If you missed this Christian Pulisic has stayed hot in Italy with his 6th goal of the season.
Indy 11 in 4th place @ Detroit City 4 pm on ESPN+
Leesburg, Va. – Indy Eleven moved up two positions to fourth place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings with a crucial 1-0 road victory at Loudoun United in a rare mid-week contest. Defender Aedan Stanley took a corner kick from the left side and drove it in front of the goal. Loudoun keeper Hugo Fauroux punched the ball high into the air, where defender Ben Ofeimu headed it down from the corner of the six to Musa, who, with his back to the goal, volleyed it with his left foot high over Fauroux for the game winner. It was Ofeimu’s first assist for the Boys in Blue.With three games left in the regular season, the Boys in Blue (13-10-8) are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 47 points. The top four teams in the East will host the first round of the playoffs the first weekend in November. Indy finishes its road week at third-place Detroit City FC on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.
High School Sectionals this week has Carmel Boys Hosting and Carmel Girls in Zionsville
in Class 3A, the second-ranked and three-time defending champion Noblesville Millers will meet Carmel Saturday evening at Carmel’s Murray Stadium. Noblesville has won 19 consecutive state tournament matches and is five away from tying North Central of Indianapolis (1994-97) for the state record. Tix are just $7 for the games at Murray. Get on out there and watch some high school soccer.
LADIES
The 3rd ranked Carmel Girls cruised thru Sectionals in Zionsville and will face #12 Indianapolis Cathedral in the finals Sat at 2 pm at Zionsville’s beautiful new stadium.
Girls Soccer Rankings
Last Updated: Monday, Oct 7, 2024
| # | Team | Ovr. | Str. |
| 1 | 13-0-3 | 18.3 | |
| 2 | 12-0-2 | 17.7 | |
| 3 | 11-3-2 | 20.1 | |
| 4 | 13-2-1 | 14.3 | |
| 5 | 13-1-1 | 13.1 | |
| 6 | 10-4-2 | 19.6 |
US Men
- Christian Pulisic enters a new stage of hype amid Liverpool and Manchester United transfer rumors
- Injuries force several changes to USMNT roster
- Mauricio Pochettino brings hope and mid-to low high expectations to the USMNT Pochettino confirms staff before U.S. friendlies
- Pulisic, Aaronson, Miljevic, and Balogun star in a mixed weekend for Yanks abroad
MLS
Miami Celebrates Winning the Supporters Shield at Columbus last week
MLS Power Rankings: Messi’s Miami eyes points record, Portland seals playoff spot MLS sets league-wide record for attendance in a regular season
US LADIES & NWSL
USWNT to face Netherlands after England friendly Jeff Kassouf
NWSL Power Rankings: Shield-clinching Orlando looks unstoppable Ryan Rosenblatt
Unbeaten Orlando Pride clinch 1st NWSL Shield
Is Chawinga Africa’s finest striker, after equalling Kerr’s NWSL record?
Why Hatch’s story is one of NWSL success, not just USWNT heartbreak
NWSL’s Red Stars sign USWNT’s Naeher to 2025
Angel City edges Seattle Reign 1-0 in tight contest
WORLD
Top 10 games to watch in October 2024 international break AC Milan boss fumes after Pulisic penalty drama ESPN Adriana Garcia
Man United continue to drift, playing boring football, as Ten Hag’s bosses watch on ESPN ark Ogden Paul Pogba sees doping ban reduced, Juventus reportedly wants to terminate contract Iniesta confirms his retirement from football
Andres Iniesta reveals dream of becoming Barcelona manager
Manchester City’s APT Ruling: How It Could Change Everything
Inside the ‘insane’ nature of Man City’s latest court case and what it means for football’s future
Lamine Yamal on course to replace Lionel Messi as leading adidas star
Goalkeeping
Great Save US Keeper Gag GK Training on your Own
Reffing
Dogso Card Mistake Yellow or Red ?
Reffing the Best Job for High School Kids Ever Become a Licensed High School Ref Become a Licensed Ref with Indiana Soccer – must be over 13 Bad Decision Does Not Mean you’re a Bad Ref
GAME TV SCHEDULE
Thur, Oct 10
2:45 pm FS 2 England vs Greece
2:45 pm TUDN Israel vs France
2:45 pm fubu Italy vs Belgium
2:45 pm FS 2 England vs Greece
2:45 pm TUDN Israel vs France
2:45 pm fubu Italy vs Belgium
Fri, Oct 11
2:45 pm TUDN Iceland vs Wales
2:45 pm FS2 Germany vs Bosnia
2:45 pm fubu Italy vs Belgium
Sat, Oct 12
12 pm FS1 Croatia vs Scotland
2:45 pm FS2 Portugal vs Poland
2:45 pm fubu Italy vs Belgium
7:30 pm Telemundo Mexico vs Valencia
9 pm TNT/Univ USMNT vs Panama
Sun Oct 13
12 pm FS1 Finland vs England
2:45 pm FS2 Austria vs Norway
2:45 pm TUDN Greece vs Ireland
4 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 @ Detroit City
7:30 pm Apple Vancouver vs LAFC
Mon, Oct 14
12 pm FS1 Georgia v Albania
2:45 pm FS2 Belgium vs France
2:45 pm Fubo Germany vs Netherlands
Tues Oct 15
12 pm FS1 Finland vs England
2:45 pm FS2 Spain vs Serbia
2:45 pm TUDN Greece vs Ireland
7:30 pm FS1 Canada vs Panama
10:30 pm TNT/Univ Mexico vs USMNT
Top games to watch in October 2024 international break
The October international break commences this midweek as club soccer takes a backseat to games with the national teams. For example, fans can watch qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Yet, while those World Cup qualifiers are not consistent among all teams, each of the FIFA confederations has games available. Here, we picked the 10 most interesting fixtures to keep you company until Oct. 15.
Top games during October international break
USMNT v Panama (Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 p.m. ET)
Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure will start as the USMNT hosts Panama. This is a rematch of the two’s group-stage meeting from the 2024 Copa America. Panama won after Tim Weah picked up a red card. Both Weah and Folarin Balogun, who scored in that fixture, are off the Argentinian coach’s first roster due to injury. This is Panama’s first fixture since its exit from the Copa America at the quarterfinal stage.
You can watch USA vs. Panama on TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock, and Fubo. For new users to Fubo, Fubo is offering a free 7-day trial.
Mexico v USMNT (Tuesday, Oct. 15, 10:30 p.m. ET)
Pochettino will also experience the heated derby against Mexico for the first time as the head coach of the Americans. Both sides crashed out of the group stage in CONMEBOL’s tournament this past summer. The game will be at Estadio Akron, one of the venues for the 2026 World Cup.It’s the first away fixture for USMNT in 2024. The United States is undefeated in this rivalry since 2019. The streak of results includes two Nations League and the 2019 Gold Cup final. It will be the first time Pochettino faces Javier Aguirre’s team since their three La Liga encounters 13 years ago. Watch the game on TNT, Univision, Sling TV, and Fubo.
England v Greece (Thursday, Oct. 10, 2:45 p.m. ET)
Lee Carsley started his spell as England’s interim head coach with a 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland, the national team he represented in his playing days. Despite the national anthem controversy, he’s still in the job for the October International Break with the Three Lions set to play games against Greece and Finland.
It was against Greece that David Beckham scored one of the most famous free-kicks in soccer history. In a tense atmosphere at Old Trafford, his 93rd-minute strike sent England to the 2002 World Cup.
England vs Greece will be live on FS2, ViX, and Fubo.
Austria v Norway (Sunday, Oct. 13, 2:45 p.m. ET)
These two teams aren’t among the best soccer nations by any stretch of the imagination. But their contrasting fortunes showed the importance of team planning more than individual brilliance. Under Ralf Rangnick, Austria played a fantastic Euro 2024 before losing to Türkiye in one of the best games of last summer. Norway, who missed out on the tournament, revived with a 2-1 win over Austria in the reverse fixture last month thanks to Erling Haaland’s winner. Watch Austria vs Norway live on FS2, ViX, and Fubo.Germany vs Netherlands will be shown live on the Fubo Sports Network as well as ViX.
Scotland v Portugal (Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2:45 p.m. ET)
In the wake of their promotion to Nations League A and an impressive Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, Scotland endured a difficult 2024 so far. Including the humbling 5-1 defeat by Germany in the Euro 2024 opener, Scotland lost six of their nine games since the turn of the year.Portugal also had an uninspiring time in Germany, but Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 900th career goal raised their spirit last month. The 39-year-old striker is competing with Aleksandar Mitrović and Karim Benzema to finish top of the Saudi Pro League’s scoring chart. Scotland against Portugal will stream live on ViX.
Bolivia v Colombia (Thursday, Oct. 10, 4:30 p.m. ET)
September was a historic month for Bolivia’s soccer. For only the second time in the 21st century, they won away from home courtesy of a 3-2 success in Chile. They’re now a single point behind World Cup kings Brazil nearly midpoint to the qualifiers.
Colombia also recorded a memorable victory last month in the repeat fixture of the Copa America final. Beating the world champions was a big achievement, but they’ll now have to cope with the difficulty of playing at an altitude of 4,100 meters above sea level.
Bolivia vs Colombia will be exclusively shown on Fanatiz.
Venezuela v Argentina (Thursday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. ET)
Meanwhile, Argentina will search for a quick reaction after the defeat at Barranquilla. La Albiceleste also bid farewell to Ángel Di María in September’s eventful international window.
| Three NWSL playoff spots up for grabs as season end nears |
| Chicago can clinch a 2024 postseason berth with a win on Saturday (Troy Taormina-Imagn Images) |
| With the Shield in Orlando’s hands, attention turns to the final three available playoff spots up for grabs in the NWSL.The Chicago Red Stars, currently in sixth, could become the next team to clinch a postseason berth with a win against the surging Gotham on Saturday at 4pm ET (Paramount+).Big Picture: Only Houston has been eliminated from postseason contention, but Portland and Bay FC will try to hold off those below the playoff line to better their odds at a quarterfinal appearance.Both clubs will have their work cut out for them, as Portland takes on first-place Orlando on Friday at 10pm ET (Prime), and Bay FC battles fourth-place Kansas City on Saturday at 10pm ET (ION).With only three regular season matches left, Seattle, Angel City, San Diego, and Utah will all face elimination scenarios this weekend. |
| Could NWSL MVP come down to Banda and Chawinga? |
| Banda has headlined a historic unbeaten streak by the Orlando Pride (Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images) |
| With KC Current forward Temwa Chawinga running away with the 2024 NWSL golden boot, is there still intrigue to be found in this year’s MVP race?Chawinga won NWSL Player of the Month for September, while forward Barbra Banda continued to excel with the unbeaten, Shield-winning Orlando Pride.Big Picture: Banda’s goal contributions are slightly off Chawinga’s pace, with 13 goals and six assists to Chawinga’s 18 goals and six assists.Chawinga leads the league in goals per 90 minutes, but Banda holds the title in goals and assists per 90 minutes, while both players comfortably lead the league in xG and npxG per 90.Bottom line: It’s been a year for blazing offense in the NWSL, personified by Chawinga and Banda’s excellence. But who will take the MVP crown? |
| Portland Thorns general manager Karina LeBlanc will be transitioning out of her role at the end of the 2024 season, the club announced on Wednesday.LeBlanc will join RAJ Sports, led by Thorns ownership the Bhathal family, in a role across the Portland Thorns and the newly-announced Portland WNBA team.Big picture: Joining the club in late 2021, LeBlanc oversaw the Thorns’ most recent NWSL championship in 2022, but this year the team has struggled with performances on the pitch.The Thorns’ winless streak early in the season led to head coach Mike Norris being reassigned to a new role, with assistant Rob Gale elevated to permanent manager.After appearing to right the ship, Portland has lost six of their last seven NWSL regular season games and are battling to stay above the playoff line in seventh place. |
| Andi Sullivan suffers torn ACL, will miss rest of the season |
| Sullivan suffered the injury in last weekend’s 2-0 loss to the Orlando Pride (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) |
| The Washington Spirit announced on Wednesday that captain Andi Sullivan suffered an ACL tear in the team’s loss to the Orlando Pride on Sunday, and will miss the rest of the 2024 season.A Spirit stalwart, Sullivan started all 21 regular season matches she appeared in for the club in 2024, tallying two goals.Sulivan joins a growing number of injured Spirit contributors, including Croix Bethune (out for the season), Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger, and Ouley Sarr. |
| Alyssa Thompson’s late goal contribution surge |
| Thompson has registered five goals and two assists in her last seven NWSL games (Harry How/Getty Images) |
| Angel City’s playoff hopes hang by a thread after a three-point deduction due to a salary cap violation, but forward Alyssa Thompson is keeping the dream of the postseason alive.Thompson has scored five goals and registered two assists in her last seven NWSL games, including a crucial assist in a win against the Seattle Reign last weekend.Six points off the playoff pace with three games to go in the regular season, Angel City will need Thompson at the height of her powers in their matchup against North Carolina on Saturday at 7:30pm ET (ION). |
| 12 NWSL golden boot leader Temwa Chawinga has scored against 12 different teams during Kansas City’s 2024 campaign. Chawinga can complete the first-ever season sweep against the San Diego Wave on Oct. 19. |
USMNT Player Tracker: Unlucky Balogun, Tillman has no equals – and Pulisic to step up?
By Greg O’Keeffe THE Athletic
Folarin Balogun’s bad luck, Christian Pulisic’s penalty puzzler and Malik Tillman’s eye-catching form all play a part of this week’s USMNT player tracker.Throughout the season, we will bring you updates on the U.S. players plying their trade in various leagues around Europe. With a World Cup on home soil on the horizon and new national team boss Mauricio Pochettino considering the options at his disposal, we’re keeping tabs on how they perform every weekend.
Issue of the weekend
After a patchy start to the season with Monaco, things were just beginning to look up for Folarin Balogun.
His goal against Rennes on Saturday ensured the visitors won 2-1 and it was his third in as many games. Having failed to find the net in Monaco’s opening four Ligue 1 fixtures (one of which saw him left on the bench), his had been a timely return to form and confidence — even more so ahead of the autumn USMNT friendlies under Pochettino, when everyone is so keen to make a good first impression.But Balogun won’t be there when the Pochettino era kicks off against Panama in Austin, Texas, on Saturday after dislocating his shoulder 64 minutes into the win at Rennes.He had to be helped off the field in obvious pain and will undergo tests to evaluate the timeframe for his recovery.
Monaco’s head coach Adi Hutter (left) comforts Balogun as he leaves the pitch in Rennes (Jean-Francois Monier/AFP via Getty Images)
Balogun is not the only notable injury withdrawal from Pochettino’s maiden roster, with Johnny Cardoso and Tim Weah replaced by Lyon midfielder Tanner Tessmann and Liga MX-based pair Brandon Vazquez and Alex Zendejas.
Balogun, who pledged his international allegiance to the U.S. last year and has scored five goals in 17 appearances for his country, must now hope shoulder surgery is not required. If he needs an operation, that could entail an even longer lay-off, just as he was playing his way back into the type of form that earned him the move to Monaco after his season on loan from Arsenal with Reims the previous year.
Player of the weekend
Christian Pulisic’s supreme form for AC Milan continues, with yet another goal against Fiorentina. But it might be time for the USMNT main man, who is one of the leaders of the national team, to take a more assertive approach with his club team-mates. Pulisic’s fourth goal in consecutive appearances for the Rossoneri made it 1-1 on Sunday, but the visitors wasted the opportunity to win the game. In a match of three missed spot kicks, Milan saw the two they were awarded saved — and for reasons unknown, their designated taker, Pulisic, was overlooked to step up. Instead, defender Theo Hernandez failed to convert before half-time, then striker Tammy Abraham also saw an effort saved.
Fiorentina’s Luca Ranieri attempts to stop Pulisic (Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Milan manager Paolo Fonseca was understandably unimpressed. “Our penalty taker is Pulisic,” he said to DAZN afterwards. “I don’t know why the players changed their minds. I spoke to him and said that it must not happen again.” Pulisic was replaced on 82 minutes and did not seem too thrilled, either, but the manager insisted he was trying to look after his star man. “It was out of caution for Pulisic — he had a problem with his flexor during the week,” he explained. “(Samuel) Chukwueze came in well and created opportunities.”
Graphic of the weekend
Quote of the weekend
“Who is better than Malik Tillman in the Eredivisie? I couldn’t name anyone.” Former Denmark international Dennis Perez, an analyst for ESPN, was very impressed by Tillman’s display in PSV Eindhoven’s 2-1 win over Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday. The American midfielder was influential as the reigning Dutch champions made it eight games and eight wins in Eredivisie this time around.
Tillman impressed against Sparta (Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images)
How did other U.S. players get on?
Name: Jonathan Gomez
Club: PAOK
Position: Left-back
Games (in all competitions): 1
The 21-year-old was on the winning side during his full debut for Greek top-flight club PAOK Thessaloniki on Sunday. Gomez, who signed from Spanish club Real Sociedad in August, is eligible for both the U.S. and Mexico and graduated through the FC Dallas academy.
Name: Jonathan Amon
Club: Lyngby
Position: Forward
Games: 11
Goals: 3
Amon has three goals so far this season in 11 appearances for his Danish Super Liga side. On Sunday he started in a front three as Lyngby, who are 10th in the table and struggling for wins, drew 1-1 at Randers FC. Amon, 25, has started all of his team’s league games so far.
Name: Cole Campbell
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Winger
Games: 5
A special milestone for the 18-year-old Texan who was named in the matchday senior squad for Dortmund for the first time during their defeat by Union Berlin on Saturday. Campbell signed a contract with the Germans until 2028 in the summer. After a spell in Iceland, he joined Dortmund in 2022 and became part of the U.S. program earlier this year.
His five competitive appearances to date this season have been for Dortmund’s second team in the German third tier.
Westerlo’s Bryan Reynolds (Isosport/MB Media/Getty Images)
Name: Bryan Reynolds
Club: Westerlo
Position: Defender
Games: 10
Goals: 1
Reynolds had a steady game for his Belgian club on Friday during their 2-2 draw with Beerschot. Playing at right wing-back, he helped his team stay in sixth place.
Name: Paxten Aaronson
Club: FC Utrecht
Position: Midfield
Games: 8
Goals: 2
The younger Aaronsen brother is on a high at the moment after scoring his second goal in as many games for Utrecht, who have started the season strongly and are in second spot. He grabbed the second goal of a 3-2 win over RKC Waalwijk on Saturday.
What’s coming up?
(All times ET)
After the forthcoming international break, see if Campbell can get onto the pitch for Dortmund against St Pauli on Friday, October 18 in the Bundesliga (2:30pm, ESPN+).
Lennard Maloney will also try and help Heidenheim recover from their 1-0 loss to RB Leipzig last time out as they face his compatriot Joe Scally’s Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, October 19 (9:30am, ESPN+).
Folarin Balogun, Tim Weah and Johnny Cardoso to miss USMNT’s October fixtures due to injuries
By Paul Tenorio Oct 6, 2024
Folarin Balogun, Johnny Cardoso, and Tim Weah have withdrawn from the USMNT squad due to injury.
Balogun, 23, dislocated his left shoulder during Monaco’s victory over Rennes on Saturday and will undergo further assessments in the coming days.Weah, 24, has missed Juventus’ last three games due to injury while Real Betis midfielder Cardoso has also battled injury issues in recent weeks.Lyon’s Tanner Tessman, Monterrey’s Brandon Vazquez, and Alex Zendejas, who plays for Liga MX side America, have been called up as replacements for three games this month.It is the first USMNT squad selected by Mauricio Pochettino after his appointment as head coach last month to replace Gregg Berhalter, who was dismissed after a group-stage exit at the Copa America.The 52-year-old’s first game in charge is a friendly against Panama at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on October 13. They then face Mexico in another friendly three days later at the Akron Stadium.
Full 25-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace).
Defenders: Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach, Auston Trusty (Celtic).
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Tanner Tessmann (Olympic Lyonnais), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven).
Forwards: Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alex Zendejas (Club América).
Mauricio Pochettino has big plans for USMNT – but will take his time to implement them
By Paul Tenorio The Athletic Oct 3, 2024
Mauricio Pochettino’s first U.S. men’s national team roster looks similar to the team summoned in September, a few days before he was officially unveiled as the new coach. With limited time and several injuries to regular players, Pochettino and his staff leaned heavily on the expertise of U.S. Soccer personnel to put together this first roster.
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The October camp is the perfect baptism for Pochettino into international management. The U.S., like most other national teams, is dealing with multiple injuries, both long- and short-term, to regular call-ups. World Cup starters Tyler Adams (back) and Sergino Dest (ACL) remain out for some time after undergoing surgeries. Two featured players over the last two years, Chris Richards and Gio Reyna, will also miss this camp with knocks which have kept them out of club action. Some depth pieces, like Luca de la Torre and Cameron Carter-Vickers, were also unavailable due to injury.Pochettino had to reach a bit deeper into the pool. In a way, it’s a blessing for a new staff to see more of the players at their disposal. For now, many of the faces have been around the program somewhat regularly: Christian Pulisic, Weston Mckennie and Yunus Musah to name a few. But, the Argentine coach noted, they have already started work on identifying players who have not been as big a part of the program.“We start to follow some very good players we think have the potential,” Pochettino said. “And maybe they are not now in the roster, but for sure, they’re going to be in the roster in the future.”
Change, in other words, is coming to the U.S. team. But Pochettino is not going to force it just yet.
Pulisic has been a mainstay and captain of the USMNT (Katie Stratman / Imagn Images)
This camp will give another chance for someone like Johnny Cardoso, who struggled in his start against Canada last month, to make an impression. It’s also a big opportunity for Aidan Morris, who has had a strong start to his tenure at Middlesbrough. Players like Marlon Fossey might also get a chance to show he should have a shout at the right back spot, while Joe Scally will have to hold off competition ahead of Dest’s return.
With key USMNT left out, here’s who might rise to the occasion ahead of pending coaching hire
The list of players Pochettino wants to look at will undoubtedly start to change in the next few camps. The work to get to know the full pool has already started. Pochettino noted a staff member was in attendance at Toulouse against Lyon on Sunday to see Mark McKenzie. Another USMNT pool player started that game for Lyon: midfielder Tanner Tessmann, who wasn’t called to this camp. Pochettino was also asked specifically about Diego Luna, a player not called up to this camp, and said the midfielder is someone the staff wants to watch more of in the coming months.
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There was one notable change in this roster: the return of Zack Steffen. The goalkeeper hasn’t played for the U.S. since 2022 and hasn’t had a great season for Colorado, but Pochettino is familiar with the former Manchester City back-up’s skillset and the goalkeeper position is problematic considering the lack of playing time for both Matt Turner and Ethan Horvath.
Steffen has not played for the U.S. since 2022 (Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images)
Pochettino said in a press conference this week that players who aren’t getting time on the field at their respective clubs have become a real issue with this national team. Pochettino, answering in his native Spanish, said he agreed that players not playing regularly is a big concern for a coach but part of his job will be to work to find players the best places to get minutes to be ready for the World Cup in 2026. Not calling in players who aren’t getting regular minutes is a luxury the U.S. men may not be able to afford, depending on the situation, but Pochettino was clear when he said players not playing for their club was “a handicap that I believe cannot be allowed.”
Still, this camp is less about those bigger-picture changes. Pochettino first must lay a foundation — for himself and the staff. That goes beyond just the players he’s calling in or their current form at the club level. Pochettino said he won’t overload players with tactical changes in this camp. Instead, he wants to “create a relationship inside and off the pitch” that will help the team understand what he is asking of them.“I think the most important (thing) is to be simple,” Pochettino said. “The player cannot believe that they’re going to arrive and the first thing in Austin we are going to be in the room and to start to spend two, three hours talking about tactics, about different things. I think the most important (thing is) that we need to settle a few principles, a few concepts that I start to develop with time.”Pochettino said the plan is to use two systems, the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3, and “from there develop our way to play.” Pochettino joked that he watches a lot of American soccer media now — “more than you believe,” he said — and he saw pundits who talked about the defensive effort the team needs.Pochettino noted that he wants to play attractive soccer that will entertain American fans. But it’s not just about playing pretty, up-tempo soccer.
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“We are going to be very, very, very demanding. When we lose the ball, we need to be desperate to recover as soon as possible,” he said. “But we need to work like a team in this moment. We need to show that we are a real team.
“All the teams that win and won titles, you can see Argentina winning the Copa America or the World Cup, of course when they have the ball, they play really well. But when they don’t have the ball, they work like a team. They are really, really, really rough. I think we need to enjoy when we don’t have the ball and try to recover, and be very strong defensively.“We need to be very competitive. It’s not only to play nice football, it is to be very competitive. That, for me, is the objective.”The path toward that objective begins next week in Austin.
Antonee Robinson: My game in my words
Stuart James and Thom Harris Oct 4, 2024 dd397a641113.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
This article is the latest in our My Game In My Words 2024 series. Click here to find all articles in the series.
“F****** hell, lad. Stop running!” a Newcastle United winger told Antonee Robinson during a game against Fulham last season.
Robinson loves overlapping and underlapping and treats the left flank like the back-straight on an athletics track, tearing forward at every opportunity to add to his increasingly impressive attacking returns. He has eight assists in the Premier League since the start of last season, which is second only to Kieran Trippier when it comes to defenders.
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As for interceptions, Robinson’s numbers are off the scale. There were 13 in one game at Anfield last season, equalling a Premier League record and keeping Mohamed Salah relatively quiet in the process.
Two years earlier, on the opening day of the Premier League season, Salah was so struck by Robinson’s performance for Fulham that he stopped to ask him his age in the middle of the match. Later, after they swapped shirts, the Liverpool forward gave him some words of encouragement that Robinson has never forgotten.
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Robinson is discussing all of this and more at his home in Surrey, on the outskirts of London, where we are scrolling through close to 100 clips of him playing for Fulham and the U.S. men’s national team. There are backflips and diving headers, own goals and crunching tackles, shoulder barges against one of the strongest players in the Premier League, and running races where there was only going to be one winner.
This is Antonee Robinson’s game in his words.
“I love it,” Robinson says, smiling.
It’s hard to imagine many modern full-backs saying the same thing, mindful that Robinson is talking about one-on-one defending. The 27-year-old feels like a bit of a throwback in that respect.
“I always go into games thinking, ‘I’m playing against a winger now and I don’t want him to get the better of me’. I feel like I can read where a player is going fairly well. But the ability to not fly in, to stand them up and then pick my time to close in on someone, I do really enjoy that,” he says.
Robinson made 80 interceptions in the Premier League last season. To put that number into perspective, it was the most across Europe’s top five leagues, 15 more than any other Premier League player (Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook was in second place) and almost twice as many as any other Premier League full-back (West Ham’s Emerson Palmieri made 43).
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“Obviously because I’m quite fast, it helps,” Robinson says in an understated way. “I feel confident knowing that I’m gonna get to most passes when I see them.
“But it’s quite annoying to the manager at times because sometimes I’ll be convinced the pass is going somewhere and almost gamble a little bit. And then it goes the other way and he hates it when I guess. He always says, ‘You’re fast enough to get there. Just stay, let it go (to the winger), and then go’. But sometimes when you smell something, you have the urge.”
Robinson’s scent is normally reliable. His trademark interception is cutting out the short and low diagonal pass to the winger outside of him — an action that he repeated over and again last season, including on multiple occasions against Tottenham Hotspur.
“I think the way they play would suit this because they invert the full-backs, they’re really narrow, and the winger is the only wide pass (available),” Robinson explains as we watch a couple of clips against Spurs. “So when I can see that’s literally the only pass he’s going to do, even if I go here (wide to try to intercept) and he plays it here (inside), there’s nothing on, so it feels safer to go. But you can see (on the video) that I’m just eyeing him up.”
Although Robinson said he will “almost gamble a little bit”, his interceptions are calculated. Before setting off, he looks at the body orientation of the player in possession and also waits until the passer (Bruno Guimaraes in the next example) focuses on striking the ball.
“When he’s put his head down, you can kind of see the direction of the pass — he’s going to pass here (wide) and I need to go that way anyway,” Robinson says. “This line (infield) is blocked off by our midfielder, which obviously the gaffer (Marco Silva) sets us up to do. So it looks like the only pass is (wide).”
If the distance between the passer and the receiver is close, which was the case when Robinson intercepted a ball from Julian Alvarez to Phil Foden at Manchester City last season, the risk of being caught out increases.
“I can remember similar ones to this where I would get done,” Robinson says. “Obviously I’ve seen him (Alvarez) put his head down, I know he’s passing there, so I’ve gone. But I think we played Liverpool, it was the exact same situation, it’s Trent (Alexander-Arnold) on the ball and he looks like he’s gonna pass it there (to the winger) and he plays it inside me; that’s the one I said the gaffer despises. He goes mental at that. Luckily, this one I made it.”
He has a good memory. The Liverpool clip is lined up ready to show him as a rare example of when that darting run to intercept goes wrong. Alexander-Arnold disguises his intentions, reverses the pass and Luis Diaz runs in behind.
Robinson sighs. “With that, I should know a lot better who’s on the ball. But, you know, playing against good teams you get excited. So that is a prime example of the manager waiting to kick off at me. I’m already thinking, ‘He’s gonna want to speak to me about that’.”
An aggressive, front-footed defender, Robinson enjoys an old-fashioned 50/50. “Without hurting anyone, I do like being able to leave it on someone,” he says as we watch him making fully committed but fair challenges on Bournemouth’s Adam Smith and Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure (below).
Robinson’s biggest attribute by far when one-v-one defending, though, is his pace. A clip of him up against the Nottingham Forest attacker Anthony Elanga, who has registered the second-fastest speed in the Premier League this season, illustrates that point. Fulham have turned over possession and Robinson is running back on the outside of Elanga, which is the last place a full-back wants to be ordinarily, but he still manages to get to the ball first. Elanga is left on his hands and knees afterwards.
“I remember one of the first passages of play here — the ball broke and both me and Elanga ended up sprinting and he’s leaving me in this race, which I didn’t expect,” Robinson says. “I was like, ‘S***. If he gets the ball, he’s in’. I knew he was quick, but he’s top-level speed. After that, I was way more cautious of the threat in behind.”
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Robinson’s speed means that throughout his career, he has been deployed as the “last man” on attacking corners, essentially as an insurance policy if the opposition counter. Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez tried and failed to win a race against Robinson from a Fulham corner last season and there was a similar scenario in the home game against Everton when Arnaut Danjuma attempted to beat him on the outside.
“He’s got to know his players there!” Robinson says, laughing. “I’d say 95 per cent of wingers, if they’re going to just try to knock it down the line and run me, I’m buzzing with that. So I was very happy when he tried that because it makes my decision so much easier.”
Robinson talks about getting tight on wingers and “not letting them breathe”. Away at Brentford last season, he was all over Bryan Mbeumo from the first minute, giving him no time on the ball. Half an hour into the game, Mbeumo let a routine pass slip under his boot by the touchline, prompting the co-commentator and former Fulham and West Ham defender Tony Gale to suggest Robinson had got inside the Brentford player’s head.
“He’s miscontrolled that because he’s looking at Robinson, thinking, ‘He’s gonna be on me sharp’. He’s taken his eye off the ball and that’s the little bit of shakiness Robinson’s put on Mbeumo early on. It’s up to Mbeumo to play a little bit of cat and mouse with him.”
Is it a game of cat and mouse with the winger?
“I suppose so,” Robinson replies, smiling. “Sometimes you end up talking to players in games, which is quite funny. I remember playing Newcastle, not this last game (this season), but a couple of games ago and Jacob Murphy was playing and he was like, ‘F****** hell, lad — stop running!’ So, little things like that — straight away they know what I’m like. And it does play a little part (in putting wingers off their game). There’s going to be players who will come at me less because they know I’m going to go the other way a lot of the time.”
Equally, there are also games where Robinson is largely defending because of the calibre of opposition. Arsenal at home last season was one of those occasions and it turned into a fascinating duel between him and Bukayo Saka in a game that Fulham won 2-1.
The first clip shows Robinson following Saka infield, shoulder-charging him and winning the ball. Robinson puffs out his cheeks after watching it. “That’s an incredibly rare occurrence because Saka is crazy strong. He’s one of the strongest players, pound for pound, that I’ve played against.”
Later in the game, Saka gets his own back in another physical duel, as if to prove Robinson’s point.
In between times, there are a couple of moments in quick succession where Robinson ends up defending one-on-one with Saka near the touchline and close to the corner flag. Robinson shows Saka down the line, forcing him onto his weaker right foot. In the first instance, Saka still manages to cross — albeit his delivery is overhit.
On the second occasion, Saka goes the same way again and Robinson blocks.
It’s tempting to think Robinson’s defending was much better the second time because he stopped the cross, but he doesn’t really see it like that.
“The first one I was still happy with,” Robinson says. “I know Saka’s very good on his left foot. If I show him down the line and he manages to get a cross in… I’d obviously like to block it, but if he’s crossing on his right foot and that’s the worst-case scenario, that’s fine. Next one you kind of know how he’s going to be shaped when he goes that way (again), so I can close it down a little bit better. But if I show him on his right every time and half of them he crosses and half of them he doesn’t, it’s a lot better than him cutting in on his left to pick a ball properly or shooting.”
(David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
An “unlucky” own goal at Villa Park in November in a 3-1 defeat. At least that was how Robinson viewed it at the time. Marco Silva thought otherwise.
Either way, that own goal represented a turning point in Robinson’s season. He went on to register assists in three successive Premier League matches (the first in the second half against Villa), scored two terrific goals for the USMNT against Trinidad & Tobago during the international break that followed, then produced one of the best performances of his career against Liverpool a couple of weeks later at Anfield.
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“My season took off,” Robinson says.
The own goal is interesting to break down, especially as Robinson told The Athletic previously that Silva had said to him: “If you were in this position in the first place, maybe that wouldn’t have happened and you would not have been ‘unlucky’.”
What is this position?
Robinson asks to take the footage further back to explain. “Here, when we looked at this, the manager would like Calvin (Bassey) to be two yards this way (sliding to the right), being able to cover the line a bit better. If he’s there, Tim (Ream) is three yards over and then I’m inside this winger (Moussa Diaby). Obviously, it gets played (down the line to Youri Tielemans) and you’ll see when I come in.
“Realistically, you’d want me to be here (the black circle below), so just five yards inside this line. And if I’m already there, he (Diaby) is not in front of me.
“Still, after that, he (Diaby) missed the ball. So I do get unlucky. But it’s always the steps leading up to that which you can prevent in the gaffer’s mind.”
By his own admission, Robinson was lacking in confidence ahead of that Villa match. He scored an own goal against Sheffield United the previous month and talks about going into games around that period thinking, ‘Just don’t make any big mistakes. Just do your job. Simple’.”
International weeks can be viewed as disruptive by a lot of club managers, but a change of scenery was probably just what Robinson needed. He joined up with the USMNT for the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final tie against Trinidad & Tobago and thrived. In the first leg, in Texas, Robinson assisted the opening goal and then scored the second with a superb strike that was followed by a series of backflips that were just as impressive.
“Big moment!” Robinson says, smiling. “I dyed my hair white because I thought, ‘You know what, I’m just gonna do something mad’, and then I scored a good goal, so I was very excited.”
Four days later, in the away fixture, Robinson scored a diving header. “I’m more happy with this one, to be honest. Because I remember him (Sergino Dest) getting it and me being out here (very wide), I was just like, ‘I’m going to dart in between the defenders’. It was a proper striker’s goal.”
Robinson returned to England “feeling better about myself”. He got an assist against Wolves in Fulham’s next match and then put in a man-of-the-match performance against Liverpool. The 13 interceptions made headlines and one of them (below) led to an assist for Fulham’s first goal.
Watching the game back, it’s remarkable how often Robinson seemed to be in the right place at the right time to limit Salah’s impact in a match that Fulham lost 4-3 despite leading with less than five minutes remaining.
Did Salah say anything to him afterwards? “Not this time,” Robinson replies. “He has before. We played Liverpool in the first game of the season two years ago. We drew 2-2. I remember saying to my friends, who are all big Liverpool fans and came down because it was around my birthday, ‘Lads, if Salah scores or gets an assist this game, I’ll pay for dinner tonight’, so I put a bit of added pressure on myself. And he (Salah) did (score), annoyingly.
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“But I remember him saying to me midway through the game (Robinson says this next bit in a curious voice), ‘How old are you?’. So he didn’t really know who I was. I must have been 24, 25. He just nodded and carried on with the game. Then, after the game, I asked for his shirt, so we swapped shirts and we were just chatting and he was like, ‘You were the best player this game, keep up what you’re doing’. That was very nice of him.”
A routine question about whether Robinson has had the opportunity to speak to Mauricio Pochettino since the Argentinian took over as head coach of the USMNT delivers an unexpected answer.
“Funnily enough, I bumped into him out for dinner the other day,” Robinson says. “We had a team meal in London and he just happened to be in there. I was sat next to Harrison Reed, who used to play for him at Southampton, so he went over to speak to him and I just went over and said hello. I was chatting to him and it seems like he’s really excited about it (coaching the USMNT).”
Pochettino’s appointment followed the decision to sack Gregg Berhalter in the wake of a dismal Copa America showing in the summer when the U.S. were eliminated in the group stage.
“We obviously wanted to push as far as we could in the tournament and try to win it,” Robinson says. “We didn’t even get the chance to get out of the group, which is a big, big letdown for us, especially us being the host nation.”
The Copa America post-mortem started immediately after the final whistle against Uruguay. Christian Pulisic, the U.S. captain, spoke about the need to regroup and, more significantly, highlighted the importance of “finding an identity again”.
(Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
With 46 caps to his name and six years of international experience behind him, including a World Cup in Qatar, Robinson has been around the team for long enough to know what the U.S. should look like on the pitch. What is their identity?
“Well, thinking back to teams before us, the U.S. was always gritty, hard-working, horrible to play against, a battling team,” he says. “They had good players but, on the whole, as a team, there was a lot of fight in them. And when we first came together as a team, we definitely had that a lot. I remember going into the World Cup, playing against England and feeling that we can make it extremely difficult for teams. But towards the end, it felt kind of soft and stagnant. We didn’t have that bite.
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“I didn’t get to go to the last (international) window and obviously we had a different manager (Mikey Varas). But I was watching us play against Canada and it just felt like they were out-fighting us. I’d back us, at our best, as a better team than them comfortably. But you have to win that fight first.
“They (Canada) did the same thing in World Cup qualifying, where they were just nasty; horrible to play against. And I think that’s something we need to get a bit of because we’re not the most talented team. So that needs to be a minimum.”
Pochettino touched on some of those themes at a press conference this week, when he highlighted Argentina’s desire to win the ball back and said it’s not just about trying to play “nice football”.
On the face of it, Pochettino’s style of play feels like a good fit for Robinson’s game. “Yeah, I think so,” Robinson says. “I think it will suit a lot of the players on our team. And, regardless, just having a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective — I think every now and then, it gets to a point where a team does need that.
“You obviously see under his resume that he’s a top-level coach. It’s going to be interesting to see how that transitions from club level to international level in terms of how much control he can have on it. He’s not going to see us every day. He’s not got a lot of time to drill into us how he wants to play. But that’s where we’ve got to step up and take responsibility and say it’s not all just on him. We need to give him as much attention and commitment as possible and make it work between us.”
“I can feel the moment when I change gears,” Robinson says.
It’s quite a sight watching Robinson overlapping to receive a pass — a bit like an Olympic sprinter setting off in the relay and waiting to be handed the baton.
According to data from SkillCorner, Arsenal’s Ben White was the only Premier League full-back to make more overlapping runs than Robinson last season.
SkillCorner define a high-intensity sprint as capturing a player moving at over 20 km/h for at least 0.7 seconds. A significant number of Robinson’s overlaps start from inside his own half, last for 3-4 seconds and see him reaching much higher speeds than 20 km/h.
“I’ve done half a pitch there!” Robinson says, laughing, as we watch him overlapping against Forest (below).
The sprint for another overlap, this time against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, starts not far outside his own penalty area. Robinson has his hand in the air as Joao Palhinha takes possession and appears to be gesturing to the midfielder where to pass next. What’s going through his mind here?
“I think, ‘Who would I rather have the ball in this situation?’ If he (Palhinha) gives it to me, Willy’s going to run and I’m going to run and we’re going to end up in the same sort of pocket. If he gives it to Willy first, Willy is already higher up and I’m going to catch up because he’s got to wait for the ball. Willy is right-footed, he can run inside, commit a defender. If the defender goes with me, Willy is going to end up shooting. So in this situation, Willy getting the ball and me coming with speed is 10 times better than me getting it.”
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‘Willy’ is Willian, the former Chelsea and Arsenal winger and a player Robinson built up an excellent understanding with at Fulham over the course of two seasons. His departure in the summer has paved the way for Robinson and Alex Iwobi to link up on the left much more frequently than before and the signs are already promising. A Robinson overlap and low cross, after a pass from Iwobi, led to Fulham’s goal at Ipswich earlier this season.
The week before, against Leicester, it was Robinson’s first-time ball that set up Iwobi for Fulham’s winner. “The understanding is getting there,” Robinson says.
Naturally, it’s much easier to develop chemistry with team-mates at club level compared with international football because of the constant repetition on the training ground, as well as the regular cycle of matches.
That said, Robinson clearly has an excellent understanding with Pulisic when it comes to his attacking runs (the clip below shows an overlap against Bolivia in the Copa America that Ricardo Pepi should have converted) and he makes it sound as though there are a lot of parallels with playing left-back for Fulham and the USMNT.
“It’s really similar,” Robinson says. “We do have a bit more licence that I can go (forward with the U.S.). If the right-back was attacking, like Sergino, or like when (Joe) Scally was playing in Copa, I can still be high because we’d have two midfielders who would sit and do that defensive box.
“But playing with Christian is very similar. We have that same understanding of, ‘You’re our most dangerous player. I’m going to give you the ball. I’ll give you the option of sprinting behind if you want to use it. If you don’t want to use it, that means you think it’s a better option, so I trust you with that’. And we have a great relationship off the pitch anyway, so it does translate to being on the same page on it.”
(Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Playing next to the same player for club and country helps — as was the case with Tim Ream up until August when the central defender joined Charlotte FC. Robinson and Ream were always on the same wavelength and had a lot of joy with a move that would see the left-winger, or No 8, come short and narrow, leaving space for Robinson to run in behind and Ream to pick him out with a longer pass.
It’s a simple but effective pattern that pulls opponents out of position.
“Opposite movements — that’s a big thing in our game (at Fulham),” Robinson says.
The footage ends with an assist that provides another example of how hard Robinson has worked to improve the quality of his final ball. “A lot of my assists have come from low crosses, which is something we do a lot after training,” he explains. “Just kind of feeding it into that danger area along the six-yard line, like the Ipswich one.”
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He must be happy with his numbers: eight assists since the start of last season is an excellent return for a left-back.
“I can’t complain about that, considering the two Premier League seasons before that I had one,” Robinson says, smiling. “But a couple of goals would be nice. I haven’t scored in the Premier League yet, so I’ve got my eye on that.”
The My Game In My Words series is part of a partnership with EA Sports. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
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CEO of U.S. Soccer JT Batson, technical director Matt Crocker, Pochettino and president Cindy Parlow (Luke Hales/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
Pochettino is presented to the media at Hudson Yards (Luke Hales/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
The video board announces Pochettino’s appointment at the friendly against New Zealand in Cincinnati (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
Matt Crocker was already close to Mauricio Pochettino (Candice Ward/Getty Images)
U.S. Soccer officials met with Klopp multiple times (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Gregg Berhalter was paid significantly less than Pochettino will get (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Emma Hayes was an advocate for Pochettino (Patricia De Brad Smith/USSF via Getty Images)
(Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
(Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
(Aric Becker/AFP via Getty Images)
Morgan in her final game (Meg Linehan/The Athletic)
(Meg Linehan/The Athletic)
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