United States Men's national Soccer Team News

The best players in United States Men’s National Team history

By Wilian Estrella

Throughout its history, the U.S. National Team had players who have marked an era in American soccer.

Throughout its history, the U.S. National Team had players who have marked an era in American soccer.

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The U.S. national soccer team has earned great respect in international soccer, as a result of the increasing competitiveness shown by its players, many of them with successful participation in important teams of the demanding leagues of Europe.

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The U.S. national team is not only a reference in CONCACAF, where it has won several Gold Cup titles, but also a major force in the World Cup, to which it has qualified on 10 occasions.

Some of the most outstanding players of the U.S. national team throughout its history include renowned players as goalkeeper Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore and the talented Landon Donovan, who holds the record for most goals for his national team, tied with Clint Dempsey with 57.

In this list we include some of the best players in the history of the USMNT.

Tim Howard

One of the great goalkeepers in the history of the national team. He shone for his consistency under the sticks and had the luxury of signing in 2003 with a giant of European soccer as Manchester United. He was loaned to Everton and became a legend of that Premier League club. With the United States he played in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups.  His 14 saves against Belgium in the Brazil World Cup set a tournament record.

Clint Dempsey

The attacker wore the USA jersey between 2004 and 2017 and is the top scorer of the squad along with Donovan with 57 goals. He played 141 matches for the USA and is the only player from that country to score in three consecutive World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014). In Europe, he became a legend at Fulham in England, where he scored 50 goals in 184 games.

 

Jozy Altidore

The veteran striker is still active —as of now— with Toronto FC and still has a lot to contribute to the U.S. national team, where he is the third-leading scorer with 42 goals in 115 games. In the 2012-2013 season, he became the top U.S. scorer in a European season when he scored 31 goals for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and played in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups with the team.

Michael Bradley

He is another US veteran who remains active with Toronto FC. He is the third player with the most appearances with the U.S. jersey after Cobi Jones and Landon Donovan. He was a key player in the runner-up in the 2009 Confederations Cup and played in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. In Europe, he had an outstanding season at club level in the Dutch, German, English and Italian leagues.

Brad Friedel

Arguably, to this day the greatest American goalkeeper of all time. He played in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups, but his performance in the World Cup in Korea and Japan —where he became the first goalkeeper to save two penalties in a match since 1974— earned him the nickname of the "Human Wall". In Europe, he played in the Premier League with Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa and Tottenham and set a record of 320 consecutive games played.

Landon Donovan

He was an attacker and attacking midfielder who wore the American jersey for 15 years. His genius as a creative player and his eye for goal are reflected in two statistics: he is the top scorer in U.S. history, tied with Clint Dempsey, and he is the team's top assister with 58 assists. He played in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups and at club level he stood out with Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and above all with English club Everton. In MLS, he remains second in the all-time scoring list with 146 goals. 

 

Claudio Reyna

The midfielder of Argentine parents was a great distributor of the U.S. game in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. He was one of the first players of the national team to establish himself in important European teams such as Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, Sunderland, Manchester City and Rangers, and he put all that experience to good use in the national team he defended 112 times, scoring eight goals.

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