Meet the two men who are representing the Syracuse Orange at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The biggest tournament in soccer history is taking over the summer all around the world. The tournament showcases the beautiful game on an international stage, and gives the people the chance to see the best players play as hard as they can for the pride of their country. This year, the tournament has grown and has become bigger and better. Instead of the usual 32 teams, there are 48, and it makes for some incredible cinderella stories, like Cape Verde, a country with a population of 530,000 advancing to the knockout stages in the first ever World Cup the country participated in. For a tournament like this, many would think that NCAA soccer wouldn't be represented. That thought, however, would be false, as there are many different players who used to play at the NCAA college level, including Tim Ream, Cyle Larin, and Matt Turner. With all of these great names, there will be two players who will be representing the Orange, and those two players are Miles Robinson and Tajon Buchanan.

(Miles Robinson, in Syracuse uniform, in a game against the University of North Carolina) https://cuse.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/miles-robinson/12907

The first player representing the Orange is Miles Robinson. Born in Arlington, Massachusetts, he is a center-back who is representing the USMNT. At Syracuse, he played for two seasons in 2015 and 2016. In his freshman season, he led Syracuse to a 16-5-4 record, their first ever ACC conference title, and the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup, as well as him scoring four goals in twenty five games, which led to him earning honors of ACC All-Freshman team, ACC All-Tournament team, TopDrawerSoccer.com Freshman Best XI First Team, and College Soccer News All-Freshman First Team. In his last year in 2016, he scored four goals and one assist, and he led them to a 12-4-4 record and a second round exit in the NCAA College Cup, and would also take home honors of ACC Defensive Player of the Year, made NSCAA Division I Men’s All-America First Team, was named a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, and made the All-ACC First Team. He would later declare for the Major League Soccer SuperDraft in 2017, where he would be drafted with the second overall pick by Atlanta United FC. Early on in his stint with Atlanta, he would be loaned out to Charleston Battery of the United Soccer League Championship, where he would play six games and score one goal. In his six years at Atlanta United, he would play 123 games, where he would score three goals and have 1 assist. He would later transfer to FC Cincinnati for free, and has had two goals in sixty games for the club. At the 2026 World Cup, he has played 270 minutes and made 3 appearances and started one game in a loss against Türkiye.

(SU Alum Tajon Buchanan, in Villareal CF uniform, celebrating a goal in a LaLiga game vs Girona FC) https://cuse.com/news/2025/8/25/mens-soccer-buchanan-scores-historic-hat-trick-with-villareal

With Miles Robinson representing the US, it's time to talk about the man who is representing the neighbors up north. Born in Brampton, Ontario in Canada, Tajon Buchanan will represent Les Rouges at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At Syracuse, Buchanan spent two years in 2017 and 2018. In his freshman season, he started in ten games and made 14 appearances, where he scored four goals and had two assists, leading Syracuse to an 8-6-2 record and a first round exit in the ACC Tournament, while also earning accolades of being named for All-ACC Third Team and named for ACC All-Freshman Team. In his last year in 2018, he led the Orange to a 7-7-4 record, but would get eliminated in the first round, but would end up in the NCAA College Cup, where they lost in the second round, but would lead himself to honors being named for All-ACC First Team, All-ECAC First Team, and was named for United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Second Team. He would later get drafted with the 9th overall pick in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft by the New England Revolution. In his three years with the Revs, he appeared in fifty games, scored eight goals and had 10 assists. He would later for play for clubs all over the world, including one of Belgium's best clubs, Club Brugge KV, where he would score four goals in 50 appearances four the club, and he was later a Italian Serie A champion for Inter Milan, and scored 1 goal in 16 appearances for the club. After he played for the Nerazzurri, he signed to Villareal in July for €9 million, the club that he still plays for today. He has made 34 appearances and started in 21 games, and has scored seven goals and had one assist, including a game in LaLiga where he scored a hat-trick against Girona CF, where he became the first ever Canadian player to score a hat-trick in a LaLiga game. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he assisted Canada's first ever World Cup goal when he assisted star Left-Back Alphonso Davies against Croatia.

The World Cup gives the opportunity to see the best of the best, but it is also important to learn how these men have developed their skills over their careers of playing the beautiful game. One great development that tons of great soccer players all out of all of these is the NCAA. Colleges like Syracuse have absolutely excelled in developing these talents, and it's the reason you see these faces on the biggest stage. The World Cup also gives us supporters the chance to learn about the culture and history of many countries all around the world. So now, sit back, cheer on your home country, and enjoy the greatest show in sport.