FC Cincinnati and U.S. Men’s National Team defender Miles Robinson has returned to practice with his MLS squad for the first time since before the FIFA World Cup.
Robinson, who has not played for FC Cincinnati since May 16, reflected Monday, July 20, upon his journey as a member of the U.S. World Cup squad. He will make his return to TQL Stadium when FCC plays the Vancouver Whitecaps on July 22.
“Being able to play 90 minutes in a World Cup game is something I’ll definitely have in my back pocket forever,” Robinson said. “So I might pull that out when I’m 85 and someone’s trying to talk trash.”
Robinson appeared once in the World Cup, starting in a 3-2 loss to Turkey on June 25. Since the U.S. won its group and clinched a spot in the knockout round before the game was played, head coach Mauricio Pochettino put players who didn’t see many minutes throughout the tournament in his starting XI.
The United States won two of its three group stage matches and defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. It lost 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16, the second consecutive World Cup where the Americans were booted in that stage. Despite that, Robinson said he saw growth in the team.
“We got the country to really back us and be proud to be American,” Robinson, who believes his team was amongst the best in American men’s soccer history, said. “The last game, I don’t think it was our best, and you can’t have games in the knockout round not be your best to survive tournaments like this. I think overall, it’s [still] just something to be proud of.”
Robinson has represented the U.S. on a senior level since 2019. But he didn’t make the country’s roster for the 2022 World Cup, rupturing his Achilles tendon in May of that year. He says that his run during this year’s World Cup is even sweeter because of the roadblocks he dealt with during the previous cycle.
Now, Robinson will shift his focus toward the second half of the MLS season – specifically, the Vancouver match. FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan emphasized that his team needed to help the defender to get acclimated to new ideas and tactics they worked on while he was gone.
As for a possible 2030 World Cup appearance? The 29-year-old Robinson didn’t explicitly deny making another run, but he did say that he wasn’t sure if he had the mentality of fellow USA teammate Tim Ream, who was on this year’s American roster as a 38-year-old.
Currently, though, Robinson is still trying to compartmentalize his last two months before he puts on another uniform.
“I don’t think it’s hit,” Robinson said of his World Cup experience. “I’m still waiting for it to hit, but if [it does], I might pass out.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miles Robinson reflects on World Cup as he returns to FC Cincinnati
Reporting by Yanyan Li, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Yanyan Li, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
