MARIETTA, Ga. — As World Cup-bound teams continue a fervent period of trial and error as this summer’s tournament nears, the U.S. men’s national team will have a fairly impactful test ahead of them on Saturday — a match against Belgium, ranked ninth in the world, with an experimental back line.
Center back Chris Richards, perhaps the USMNT’s most important defender going into the World Cup, will miss the friendly with a knee issue, though he will not be the only one unavailable. Fellow center back Miles Robinson was also ruled out of this month’s international break, which concludes with a friendly against Portugal on Tuesday, with a groin issue.
“For sure, Miles Robinson is out for the two games,” head coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday. “He suffered a minor injury in his groin. I think [it] was Monday or Tuesday.
“Then Chris, difficult situation to assess and explain because he played Thursday in Europe with [Crystal] Palace, and then the club gave permission to come to America. He reported, on Monday, some problem in his knee. After we were assessing him, he was training in some part of the training Tuesday, but he [could] not finish Wednesday, and he now feels something in his knee. We hope that it’s nothing important, but for tomorrow, he’s out.”
How to watch USMNT vs. BelgiumDate: Saturday, March 28 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ETLocation: Mercedes Benz StadiumTV: TNT | Live stream: HBO Max
Though neither injury should get in the way of either player’s World Cup chances, it poses a fascinating question for Pochettino and his coaching staff ahead of a pair of crucial matches. The USMNT have been on a five-game unbeaten run since Pochettino adopted a system with three center backs, requiring the head coach to have as many defenders available to him as possible. This month’s roster includes mainstay Tim Ream and a relatively familiar face in Auston Trusty, but in the spirit of keeping the door as wide open as possible to potential World Cup players, Pochettino has some other options available to him on Saturday.
“Lucky that we brought five center backs and now with the possibility of something happen[ing], some injuries,” the coach said. “Joe Scally, Tanner Tessman, maybe they can play there … To be right in the players that you pick, [that could] happen in a World Cup and we need to see all the options that we have because the circumstance can happen.”
Both Scally and Tessman are on the fringes of the USMNT’s player pool, though each boasts a versatility that will come in handy for a World Cup — or at least Saturday’s friendly against Belgium. Scally has historically played on the wing for the national team, but played more centrally with Ream and Robinson in the U.S.’ 2-1 win over Paraguay in November, while Tessman is more traditionally a central midfielder but can slot in the backline if need be.
Should Tessman slot into the defense against Belgium or Portugal, it opens up a whole range of questions for the USMNT’s midfield. Unlike the back line, Pochettino’s cup runneth over with options in the center of the park, and not for the first time. Since the switch to a back three, Pochettino has gone with five different midfield compositions, both in terms of personnel and shape. All eight players in camp, including Tessman, seem to pose a reasonable shot at playing, leaving Pochettino with a good kind of problem with two months to go until he names his World Cup roster.
“Any combination, they were all different, I think works,” he said. “The competition is high and it’s going to be tough to pick the right players for the final roster. It’s a big, big job. I am suffering two months in advance.”
In the deeper midfield positions, the focus will be on Johnny Cardoso. The Atletico Madrid midfielder has excelled in his first season with a team that is a regular in the UEFA Champions League, starting in round of 16 matches against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month. He has been in and out of the USMNT with injuries, unable to play much since a 2-1 loss to Turkiye last June that was defined by a costly mistake that led to one of the opponent’s goals. Pochettino recognized that this month offers an important chance to put that performance behind him.
“The problem is that it’s difficult to find the fresh memories about him performing in the national team,” Pochettino said. “That is why we need to be careful how we assess the players. That is why it is a great opportunity for Johnny because he’s performing really well in Atletico Madrid. His adaption to the USA men’s national team [is important] because every time that he came.”
Further up the pitch, Gio Reyna is contending for minutes in midfield despite playing infrequently with Borussia Monchengladbach this season. It is an old tale for Reyna at the club level, but the 23-year-old finds a way to perform in national team colors, most recently with a goal in the Paraguay game.
“Gio, he looks good in training,” forward Chirstian Pulisic said. “Obviously I’m not super familiar with the club situation, but what he’s done for this team in big moments as well, he deserves to be here. He’s a really talented player.”
The same is true for Reyna’s teammates, each of whom is eager to finally book the World Cup roster spot they have been waiting years for
“I think you can feel the intensity in the training,” Pulisic said. “All the guys are wanting to really stake their claim, and they want to be on that World Cup roster, there’s no doubt about it. Everyone wants to prove themselves. We have a great opportunity now with two really good games. I think you can definitely feel the energy in the team and feel that it’s getting a little bit more serious, and the excitement for the tournament, obviously, it’s starting to get real.”
Antonee Robinson poised for USMNT return
While Pochettino deals with absences in the back line, there is some good news – left back Antonee Robinson is likely to play his first game for the national team since November 2024, a long-lasting knee injury finally behind him.
“Fully fit at the moment, fully available for all games, all trainings,” Robinson said. “I’ve been able to get myself in pretty good shape. Back at [Fulham], I’ve been available for everything, haven’t missed any training sessions and I’ve been sort of progressing with how I’m feeling myself, and then it translates into playing games and getting back up to being sure and being ready and I feel like when I feel physically good, I can perform, and I’m just looking forward to hopefully having just to do that in this camp.”
Robinson emerged as one of the USMNT’s most vital players before Pochettino’s arrival in the fall of 2024, but is a natural fit for the team’s new tactical look, a Premier League-caliber attack-minded fullback who is a very welcome addition. It is a sigh of relief for all parties involved that the 28-year-old is back in the group, Robinson admitting that he was worried he would not be fit in time for the World Cup as the knee injury kept pestering him after surgery last summer.
“There was a lot of concern for me, to be honest,” he said. “Obviously, I had surgery on my knee, the rehab didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped it would, so even when I came back, and I was trying to train and play, I still wasn’t quite ready. Then I came out to my first camp in October and couldn’t play then. I had to kind of take myself out, go back to the club, and still miss some time. Realistically, I’ve not played a U.S. game for [around] a year and a half, I think, so there was no sort of certainty on my end that I was going to be fit and available and make it because it just seemed like there was kind of no light at the end of the tunnel but thankfully, I feel like I’m past that point now. It’s really exciting to be back with the boys, and this is kind of my last opportunity to play games before the summer with the team. I’m sure that I can still contribute to the national team and do well, so I’m hoping I get the chance and I can give everything.”
Robinson admitted the transition back into the group has been fairly straightforward because he made the trip to the U.S. for the October friendlies, a 1-1 draw against Ecuador and a 2-1 win over Australia, even if he did not play.
“You get kind of familiar with what you need to do and what the expectations are, the standard and the level of training,” he said. “I’ve been in and out but luckily getting to see it in October and having a few training sessions and seeing where everything was at and then this camp just kind of seamlessly fitting back in and you get told pretty quickly if you’re not doing the right things in training, whether that’s like a little bit intensity at some times or anything like that so it’s been pretty easy to pick up and I feel like I’ve not missed any time of all being back with the guys, to be honest.”
The player has made a handful of adjustments to his routines to ensure he can keep his fitness levels high as he finishes out the season with Fulham and prepares for what he hopes will be his second trip to the World Cup.
“A lot of different methods, seeking outside help for my rehab and different opinions and stuff on how I could change what I was doing to get my physical condition a lot better, and I feel like that helped and then a series of injections and things like that to try and let it heal,” Robinson said as he detailed his return to fitness. “The club’s been really good at managing my load early on in the year and responding well to when I got back and I played quite a lot of games quickly to then needing to take a bit of a breather from then as well so a variety of things have contributed to that and then obviously for myself, I’m trying off the pitch to make sure I’m doing as much as I can to be in the best physical shape. I’m the first person at the training ground because I know I need to do a lot in the gym before I train. In the evening, when I put the kids off the bed, I’m doing more stuff, so I’m in good shape. It’s been a long road, but I’m feeling really good. I felt good in training this week, and I’m happy to be where I am now.”