Antonee Robinson injury huge blow for USMNT in Concacaf Nations League | OneFootball

The U.S. men's national team has announced three injury-based roster changes on Tuesday for its upcoming Concacaf Nations League matches, with none looming larger than the revelation that Antonee Robinson will be ruled out.

The Fulham left back is at worst the second name on the team sheet these days for U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino behind AC Milan's Christian Pulisic.

And of those players in the American player pool, he might be the most elite at his position in terms of the world market. He's the 13th-highest valued left back on the planet, according to Transfermarkt, with an assigned value of about $45 million.

But the biggest reason Antonee Robinson's absence against Panama may loom so large is because of how the match is likely to shape up against a Canaleros side likely to sit in a deep block.

There are exactly the kind of games where Robinson's exceptional attacking ability from a defending position proves so vital.

Robinson's record against Concacaf

Robinson has five goal contributions for the USMNT since November of 2023, and all of them have come in matches against opponents from Central America or the Caribbean, which don't have the talent to try to match the U.S. for possession.

In fact, he provided the assist on the Americans' last goal in a competitive fixture against Panama, that infamous 2-1 loss in Copa America that ultimately contributed to an embarassing group stage exit and the end for manager Gregg Berhalter. He also had an assist in a 4-2 win over Jamaica in Leg 2 of the 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals against Jamaica to help the U.S. reach this stage.

The Americans are already with limited options at striker, with Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi both out to injury. Josh Sargent will probably get a chance to make his case at the No. 9 role after yet another strong season for Norwich City, but scoring in the EFL Championship is not necessarily an indicator of being able to do so on the international level

The midfield is as strong as its been since probably the 2022 World Cup, with Tyler Adams regaining form and fitness at Bournemouth and Tanner Tessman blossoming into an importan contributor at Olympique Lyon. That duo joins the already established diad of Pulisic and McKennie as the Americans' strongest unit.

But it's players like Robinson on the left and (the currenly out-of-the-squad) Sergino Dest on the right who make it easier for the U.S. to solve approaches like they will probably see on Thursday, especially when they might not have a striker capable of creating his own opportunities.

The U.S. has come out on the losing end of its last two fixtures against Panama. They should be able to end that mini-skid with superior talent across the board. But Robinson's absence will make it tougher.