"I've introduced myself as Jedi at school, at new clubs. That's just kind of stuck with me now." That's Antonee Robinson — Premier League left back, USMNT cornerstone, and lifelong holder of a nickname he chose at age five because, in his own words, he just wanted to be called Jedi.
The nickname is the fun part. The story behind it reveals something about the man: Robinson has always done things his own way.
The citizenship thread that changed American soccer
Robinson was born in Milton Keynes and developed entirely through England's football system, coming through Everton's academy before establishing himself as one of the faster left backs in the Premier League at Fulham. On paper, he looks like a product of English football. His international future, though, was always pointing elsewhere.
His grandmother moved from Jamaica to White Plains, New York, where she raised Robinson's father. That New York connection is what opened the door to American citizenship — and eventually to Mauricio Pochettino's squad for the 2026 World Cup on home soil.
"My grandma's originally from Jamaica but she raised my dad in White Plains, New York," Robinson explained. "That's where my citizenship and roots really comes from."
For the USMNT, landing a player of his profile — physical, quick, defensively reliable, Premier League-proven — through that family thread has been one of the program's quieter wins. Pochettino's backline looks considerably more settled with Robinson in it, and any betting markets around the US in 2026 should factor in just how important a fit left back is to how this team is built to play.
Backflips, Rubik's Cubes, and a five-year-old's nickname
Robinson's father was a football coach, and when he put together his son's first team, he let the five-year-old pick his own nickname. Most kids would have gone for Ronaldo or Zidane. Robinson went with Jedi. His parents still use it.
The self-teaching instinct he showed then never left. As a teenager, he learned to solve a Rubik's Cube from YouTube videos — then pushed further until he could do one-handed solves before losing interest in speed-solving altogether. He also taught himself backflips at home, which became his goal celebration until coaches gently suggested he stop.
"I got asked not to do that again because it was pretty scary and pretty risky," he admitted.
That fearlessness — playing high up the pitch, carrying the ball, taking risks — is exactly what makes him dangerous in the final third for both Fulham and the national team. It also means defenders facing the USMNT in 2026 have a genuine problem down that left channel.
"It's real and I'm actually here," Robinson said of the World Cup. "I finally get to represent my country on the biggest stage."
If the draw cooperates, one of those stages could see him lining up against England — the country that made him.
