Two players give U.S. team British accent
Carter-Vickers, Robinson have American fathers.
Listening to LONDON —
Antonee Robinson and Cameron Carter-Vickers speak, hearing those British accents and vocabulary this week at U.S. national soccer team training camp, one could not help but think they had taken a terribly wrong turn on their way to the English headquarters at St. George’s Park in West Midlands.
Both were born and raised in England, joined youth academies run by Premier League clubs and have plied their trade in these parts since turning pro. Both are also U.S. citizens, sons of American fathers who happened to excel in college sports: Final Fours in basketball and soccer, respectively.
Eligible and capable, Robinson and Carter-Vickers are members of a new wave of players being integrated into a program that missed the 2018 World Cup in spectacularly miserable fashion. And today they’ll find themselves in the awkward and awesome situation of facing England — the team they adored in their youth — at Wembley Stadium, hallowed ground for any English footballer.
“It will be a little weird,” Carter-Vickers said.
Robinson added, “Such a big stage, to actually step out and play there, it’s going to be unreal.”
Robinson, 21, has never stepped foot inside Wembley, as a player or spectator. Carter-Vickers, who will turn 21 on New Year’s Eve, has been there in uniform for Tottenham Hotspur a few times, though he has not entered a match.
With a 27-man roster and two matches on this U.S. tour — the Americans will test Italy next Tuesday in Belgium — there are no guarantees the British Americans will start or enter the first friendly as subs. Robinson’s status was thrown into serious doubt Tuesday morning when he rolled his ankle in training.
Both, however, have been in the mix for much of 2018 under interim coach Dave Sarachan, who was tasked with putting the program’s pieces back together.
“We’ve got to do what we feel is necessary in terms of the lineup, but if there’s a way to get them included, that would be a good thing for them,” he said. “I know how special that would be.”
Carter-Vickers, a brawny center back, is employed by Tottenham but has been on loan this season with American-owned Swansea City, a second-flight club. (He has started twice.)
Likewise, Robinson, a left back, is contracted by Everton but on assignment with second-tier Wigan Athletic.
Carter-Vickers is originally from Southend, 42 miles east of London. Robinson was born in Milton Keynes, 55 miles northwest of the capital. Both will have large delegations at Wembley.
“I’ve got to see how many tickets I can get,” Carter-Vickers said, mentioning 15 as a possibility. “If I get more, I am sure I can find someone to take them.”
Robinson said, “It’s not very often I play so locally for the U.S. and especially against England. It’s a big occasion. Everyone in England looks forward to a trip to Wembley, so the fact I can give all my friends and family that, it means a lot to me.”
Carter-Vickers takes the names of both parents, who never married. His father, Howard Carter, is fourth on LSU basketball’s career scoring list; he scored one more point than Shaquille O’Neal. Until 10 years ago, he was the program’s all-time leader in minutes played.
As a sophomore in 198081, he averaged 16 points and helped the Tigers reach the Final Four for the first time in 28 years. In 1983, the Denver Nuggets selected him in the first round of the NBA draft (15th overall). After two years in the league, he took his career to Europe, where he met Cameron’s mother, Geraldine Vickers.
Despite the distance — he in Britain, Howard in Louisiana — father and son are close. Howard attended the U.S. match against Paraguay in Cary, N.C., in March and Cameron visits Louisiana annually to see Howard and extended family.
Carter-Vickers is no stranger to the U.S. program; he has been involved with youth national teams since 2014 and was a member of the squad at the 2015 Under20 World Cup in New Zealand. He has played against England at the junior level.
As for today’s high-profile encounter: “I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully I get to play. For my family and stuff like that, it’s a big game.”
Robinson made his U.S. debut in 2014 with the under18 squad and, amid injuries and an evolving club career, did not return until Sarachan summoned him this past spring. His U.S. ties go back two generations, and his father, Marlon, was born in England but grew up in White Plains, N.Y., before starring in soccer at Duke University. In 1982, the Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA final before losing to Indiana in eight overtimes. He became a U.S. citizen.
Antonee, now a big Duke Blue Devils basketball fan, grew up in Liverpool and embraced soccer through the city’s blue team, Everton. (City rival Liverpool is red.)
After excelling with Everton’s under-23 squad, Robinson embraced loans to Bolton (26 starts last season) and Wigan, where he has started 15 of 17 league matches this season.
“I’d definitely say when I was younger I had a feeling I would be playing for England one day,” Robinson said. “Obviously, now I am playing for the U.S. I am delighted with it.”