Miles Robinson’s reaction said it all.
The usually even-keeled Robinson let out his emotions. Frustration, rage, disbelief and disappointment poured out of him as he laid in a heap on the turf of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He slammed his fist into the synthetic grass and vigorously pointed at his calf area, trying to comprehend the betrayal from his own body.
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Robinson knew the outcome of his injury almost immediately, a ruptured left Achilles. And with it came the even more devastating news that his 2022 World Cup dreams were dashed in a blink.
“It’s just part of my story at this point,” Robinson told the Herald. “At the end of the day, you kind of get stronger, you get to know yourself more during tough situations like that.”
Four years later, Robinson’s reaction, once again, said it all.
Driving home from a training session last month, the FC Cincinnati defender received a WhatsApp message from United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino. The message, sent to him and the rest of the player pool, informed Robinson he was one of 26 players selected to the U.S. World Cup team for this summer’s tournament.
Robinson’s composure allowed him to get home instead of veering off the road. He FaceTimed his family and his mom, who still lives in the same house Robinson grew up in in Arlington, just outside of Boston, answered.
The outcome this time? Pure jubilation as Robinson’s news garnered shrieks of excitement from his mother.
“It was definitely a surreal moment,” Robinson said. “It was a moment I’ve been hoping for over the last eight (years), four years. However long you look at it. It was definitely a happy moment for me and my family.”
The journey to this World Cup for the 29-year-old Robinson had many starting points, but the one most point to is that fateful day when he tore his Achilles.
The debilitating injury occurred in early May 2022, just six months shy of that year’s World Cup. Robinson at that time seemed well on his way to securing a roster spot, having started 11 of 13 qualifying matches for the U.S while also helping the Americans win the 2021 Gold Cup with a header in the 117th minute.
But instead of flying to Qatar with his teammates, Robinson stayed back in the states and watched them go on without him. That could have sunk Robinson’s mood into deep depths, but he refused to let it.
Robinson stressed positivity throughout his rehab process. He said the positive mindset came natural to him, but also was something he crafted over time. And he needed it to help him get through one of the most arduous situations of his career.
“After it happened, I kind of centered myself and recognized I’m still so grateful to be in this position,” Robinson said. “With the support of my family and friends, they really uplifted me. So, I continued to have a smile on my face throughout the whole process.”
Robinson slowly and steadily worked his way back. He continued to excel in MLS and signed with Cincinnati prior to the 2024 season after spending the first six seasons of his nine-year career with Atlanta United FC. He also represented the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The goal for Robinson was always the World Cup, though. But despite his tenacious effort after the injury to return to top form, there were no guarantees he would even make the team a few months ago.
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Robinson, who has 40 caps with the national team, found himself on the roster bubble, jockeying with the team’s other center backs in Chris Richards, captain Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty.
But Robinson was determined to not lose out on this opportunity again.
“I think any professional soccer player they always dream of being a part of a World Cup roster, a part of the team,” Robinson said. “The fact I couldn’t play in 2022 was just like, ‘OK, well I still have faith and believe in myself for the next one coming.’ … It was always kind of in the back of my mind and it was definitely always a motivating factor kind of throughout these last four years.”
It’s unclear how much Robinson will factor into Pochettino’s plans once the U.S. begins its World Cup play Friday night against Paraguay. The 6-foot-2 defender came off the bench in an international friendly last week against Senegal, but started on the back line in the Americans’ 2-1 loss to Germany in the squad’s final tune-up for the tournament this past Saturday.
Whether he gets into game action or not, it feels like Robinson has already won by overcoming the adversity that was in his way to represent the U.S. on this global stage. It also affords him the chance to represent Arlington, another starting point in his World Cup journey.
Robinson’s hometown “means the world to him,” and he’s the toast of Arlington at the moment, too.
“To see what he’s done, first person from Arlington to be in the Olympics, first to be in the World Cup, it just brings so much positive light to our town,” said Arlington High athletic director John Bowler, who was Robinson’s basketball coach in high school. “The town is just buzzing about him being named to the team.”
“I’m so grateful and proud to be from Arlington and the Boston area,” Robinson said. “I think I’m the only player from New England on this roster. That kind of adds some type of pride and just being a part of New England soccer.”
Bowler remembers Robinson as a leader and athletic specimen, and that was on the hardwood. Robinson played four seasons of basketball for the Spy Ponders and the 2015 Herald All-Scholastic finished with 1,148 career points.
Bowler never saw Robinson play soccer until early on in his career at Syracuse, where he won ACC Defensive Player of the Year and led the Orangemen to the Final Four in 2015 before getting drafted No. 2 overall by Atlanta in the MLS SuperDraft in 2017.
And it didn’t take long for Robinson to stand out on the pitch in college.
“I always knew he was always the most athletic, the strongest, had a great athletic IQ,” Bowler said. “I went to a scrimmage his freshman year at Syracuse, playing UConn and I was like, ‘I wonder how he’ll be (at this level)?’ And just from the start, he was probably the fastest. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is unbelievable,’ because I only got to see him play basketball.”
Robinson was back in Arlington a few weeks ago, donating his time and money to the Boys and Girls Club where he grew up playing sports and learned how to swim.
He called it a “full-circle moment” to be able to enjoy that experience.
The experience that awaits him at the World Cup could be just as gratifying due to all Robinson went through to make his dream a possibility.
“It was just one of those tough moments, but it just makes this moment even more sweet because I know how much I worked and how much I was hoping for this moment four, five years ago,” Robinson said. “I’m happy to be here now.”
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