VIDEO: USMNT star Antonee Robinson surprised by legend Tim Howard with U.S. Soccer's Male Player of the Year honor

On NBC's Premier League Mornings show Sunday, Tim Howard surprised Antonee Robinson by informing him that he had been named U.S. Soccer's Male Player of the Year. Robinson has been told he'd be doing a standard interview with Howard, only to be surprised with the revelation that he'd won the award.

Robinson beat out a list of nominees including Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Tim Ream, earning 55 percent of the weighted vote total. The Fulham star is the first defender to win the award this century, with Oguchi Onyewu as the only other. The last defender to win prior to Onyewu was Alexi Lalas, who claimed the award in 1995.

“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 do be rewarded for that is an amazing feeling.”

"I probably looked a little silly because I was shocked! I thought it was just a random interview with Tim about how the season was going, so when he told me I’d won I was just in disbelief because it was the last thing I expected. Obviously, Tim had an incredible career with the national team and throughout his club football so it was a thrill to have that news delivered by him.”

Robinson's win comes as a result of a fantastic 2024 run which saw him shine for both club and country.

On the club level, Robinson has proven to be one of the Premier League's best fullbacks, if not the best, so far this season. He's tied for third in the league in assists, trailing only superstars Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka, and was named Fulham's Player of the Season for his contributions during the 2023-24 campaign. Robinson is the third current or former Fulham player to win the award, joining Clint Dempsey and Kasey Keller.

For the national team, Robinson featured 11 times in 2024, helping preserve four clean sheets. In addition, he provided a massive assist in the USMNT's win over Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal. In total in 2024, Robinson played the second-most minutes and second-most matches in a calendar year since making his USMNT debut back in 2018.

The USMNT fullback helped Fulham rally for a 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town Sunday. Fulham next play Watford in the FA Cup on Jan. 9.