Antonee Robinson, the USMNT and Fulham defender, has been voted as the 2024 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year.
The 27-year-old has been rewarded for a standout calendar year for his country, winning 55 per cent of the weighted vote.
Robinson started 11 matches for the USMNT in 2024, including all four of the side’s four clean sheets. He also laid on the game-winning assist in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals win against Jamaica in November.
The award is voted for by fans while votes are also collected from national team coaches, USMNT players, members of the U.S. Soccer board of directors, U.S. Soccer athletes’ council, professional league head coaches and sporting directors, select media members and former players and administrators.
A total of 27 players have won the award in its history since 1984. Robinson is the first defender since Oguchi Onyewu in 2006 to win it.
Better and better, year after year.
What a 2024 from @Antonee_Jedi. 📈 pic.twitter.com/j3RVkPrD1B
— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) January 5, 2025
“It’s an incredible honor,” said Robinson.“Representing our country isn’t something you do for individual accolades.
“It’s always about putting the team first and trying to do my best for the boys and for the country, so to be rewarded for that is an amazing feeling.”
Robinson has grown into one of the top left backs in the Premier League with Fulham, and was named the club’s player of the year for the 2023-24 season.
He managed 10 assists across 37 games played, four more than any other defender in the English top flight.
Robinson beat 2023 winner Christian Pulisic to the U.S Soccer award, who was on a list that also included Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Tim Ream.
GO DEEPER
How Antonee Robinson became the best left-back in the Premier League
What did Robinson do in 2024?
Put simply, he joined the highest echelon of left backs around the world.It would be incorrect to call 2024 a breakout year for the Fulham defender, but it was a year that cemented his vitality to club and country alike. The 27-year-old was a constant starter for both, even donning the armband for the London club on many occasions after compatriot Tim Ream left for Charlotte FC in the summer. Over the past year-and-a-half, he has become the best left back in the Premier League.
He was also one of the few USMNT players whose blushes were spared at the Copa America, as the team’s shocking group stage exit had little to do with his performance.
He may not have the same breakneck pace as CONCACAF rival Alphonso Davies, but Robinson ranks among the best defenders in the Premier League in terms of his recovery runs. More tangibly, he leads all defenders in the circuit with seven assists, an impressive return from his 25 generated chances.
Tack on some savvy one-on-one defending, more dependable tackling success and a high share of Fulham’s touches, and Robinson is a worthy winner of this honor. Another American in Europe may have had more headline-stealing highs, but Robinson seldom had a bad day in 2024.
How much of a surprise is this?
In a vacuum, it’s a rarity for U.S. Soccer to give this honor to a defender. Robinson’s win snaps an 18-year drought for defenders, a stretch that has seen the list of winners dominated by program greats like Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Pulisic. Some of that is understandable — good work in front of an opponent’s goal is always bound to draw admirers, while top-tier netminding is equally impactful. To award this honor to a defender — or a two-way midfielder like Weston McKennie (who won in 2020) or Tyler Adams (2022) — emphasizes the importance of impact in all phases of play instead of impacting the scoresheet.
What truly makes this somewhat surprising is the fact that Robinson won it over Pulisic. While the AC Milan forward already has four U.S. Soccer Player of the Year honors to his name (having won in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023), it’s fair to argue that he’s never had a greater calendar year than he enjoyed in 2024. Pulisic became the main man at Milan after projecting to supplement Rafael Leao upon arriving eighteen months ago, becoming one of the most prolific shooters and chance creators in Europe across the calendar year. Additionally, his opening goal at the Copa America was a rare high point of the team’s brief tournament.
Then again, Pulisic’s established pattern of winning suggests that he’s in pole position to win again in 2025.
The timing could hardly be better for Robinson, as he’s already a hot commodity in transfer trackers the world over thanks to dominant December showings against Arsenal and Liverpool. The fact that he’s won this over Pulisic in a true two-horse race only heightens the hype around the man from Milton Keynes.
(Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
