No split loyalties for US star 'Jedi' Robinson

Antonee "Jedi" Robinson, the USA's Liverpool-raised left-back with a strong British accent, is laser-focused on helping his national team go deep into the World Cup they are co-hosting, and will have no soft spot for his country of birth when they kick off against Croatia on Wednesday.

Since his debut in 2018, Robinson has become a lynchpin of the US team, solid defensively in their opening win over Paraguay but capable of spectacular strikes like his rocket against Germany in a recent friendly.

"I wouldn't say I'd be cheering for England !" Robinson told AFP.

"I mean, the boys who I know playing, I'll be hoping that they do well. But I don't really have a preference of what team does well in the tournament other than us," he said.

Robinson's father Marlon emigrated to the US and became a naturalized American citizen.

As a young child, he connected with his father's new culture by watching American cartoons, and is known to his teammates by the "Jedi" nickname he picked from "Star Wars."

Robinson is one of several US players with links to England. Striker Folarin Balogun , whose brace against Paraguay got the US co-hosts off to a dream start, grew up in London, while Gio Reyna and Sebastian Berhalter were born in the United Kingdom.

The US could play England in the knockouts -- a possible quarter-final if the Americans top their group and the English are runners-up.