Since our coverage of Saturday's Germany friendly, the USMNT has moved on from Chicago — but one question followed them to Los Angeles: is Antonee Robinson actually OK?

Pochtettino told reporters post-match, according to the New York Post, "Just cramps. Hope that it's cramps. But I cannot be sure." Five days out from a World Cup opener, that's an unsettling statement.

What Happened Saturday

Robinson scored in the 37th minute — a first-time volley that the New York Post called "as good an individual effort as you could see on a soccer field." It was his second goal of the season, his first open-play tally since a down year at Fulham in the Premier League where injuries kept him out of the national team picture until March.

Then, at the 61st minute, he was done. Cramps, the team said. Pochettino confirmed the plan: travel to LA, recover Sunday, back to training Monday ahead of the Paraguay prep.

Why This Matters

The 2-1 result against Germany is secondary. Germany is a World Cup favorite. Keeping it close and showing fight was the point of the exercise.

Robinson is irreplaceable. He's the engine on the left side — both a defensive anchor and an offensive outlet. Pochettino's system runs through him. According to the U.S. Soccer roster announcement from May 26, Robinson has been locked in as an unquestioned starter. There's no plan B at left back that generates the same attacking threat.

If his hamstring is actually strained — not just cramps — the USMNT doesn't just lose a starter. They lose a dimension of their game.

The Schedule Ahead

The U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed the Group D schedule: Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles, Australia on June 19 in Seattle, Türkiye on June 25 back in Los Angeles. All on FOX Sports and Telemundo.

That's three matches in 13 days. If Robinson misses the Paraguay opener, the U.S. still has room to recover. But Pochettino won't know the full extent of the injury until early this week at the latest — and by then, the preparation window for Paraguay is already half gone.

What Media Is Missing

Most coverage focused on the tactical takeaways from the Germany match — the defensive shape, Christian Pulisic's role, whether the young core can handle knockout pressure. Reasonable angles. But they're burying the Robinson injury update.

The Guardian's matchday live blog, covering the full slate of pre-World Cup friendlies on June 6, mentioned the U.S.-Germany match in passing while spending more column space on England's loss to Spain and a Brighton transfer deal. No mention of Robinson's health.

The New York Post, to their credit, led with Robinson specifically — but even their piece treated his exit as a minor footnote after celebrating the goal. "Just cramps" is not a reassuring quote from a head coach. That deserves more scrutiny than it's getting.

Pochettino's Next Move

Pochettino named his 26-man roster on May 26 in New York City, announced live on FOX. He called it "the best group of 26 players to help us achieve success at the World Cup." Fine. Now he has to manage that group through a short, high-pressure window with a potential key injury.

His medical team has through Monday's training session to give him a real answer. If Robinson can't go June 12, Pochettino has to decide whether to push him to the Australia match and hope the depth holds, or make a more dramatic tactical adjustment.

In Closing

The Germany friendly did what it was supposed to do — gave the team one final run-out at high intensity and sent fans home with something to remember. Robinson's volley was that moment.

But soccer has a nasty habit of turning highlight moments into injury anxiety. Pochettino said himself he "cannot be sure" about the cramps diagnosis. For a team five days from its first World Cup match on home soil, that uncertainty is the only story that matters right now.

The U.S. has never gone past the quarterfinals. They're hosting. Expectations have never been higher. And their best left back is icing his leg in a Los Angeles hotel room.

That better just be cramps.