Over the years, we have struggled in certain positions across the soccer field, depending on the heroics of the likes of Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to propel us in major tournaments. But one position we have not struggled with is between the sticks. Our shores have provided a conveyor belt of steadfast goalkeepers, culminating with our current number one, Zack Steffen. The former Columbus Crew man joined English champions Manchester City for a reported $7.5m back in 2019, the most expensive transfer fee ever paid for an American goalkeeper.
Steffen is the latest in a long line of reliable shot-stoppers to represent the USMNT. With that being said, let's take a look at the most capped goalkeepers to represent the United States.
5th - Brad Guzan - 64 caps
Atlanta United’s captain is still going strong to this day, playing in the first four of The Five Stripes’ games in the new MLS campaign. Despite being a safe pair of hands for United though, he hasn’t featured for the USMNT since 2019 though.
The big shot-stopper racked up an impressive 144 appearances for Aston Villa in the Premier League, before returning stateside in the summer of 2017, and he will be hoping to add to his 64 international caps in Qatar this winter, as the US gear up for their first FIFA World Cup appearance since 2014.
4th - Brad Friedel - 82 caps
Ohio-native Friedel is a legend of the English Premier League. He racked up a mammoth 450 Premier League appearances across four different clubs: Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur.
He’s also the fourth oldest player to ever play in the top flight. He was aged 42 years and 176 days when he played in Spurs’ 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle United in November 2013. Amazingly, that appearance came over nine years after his last international cap. Age is just a number for goalkeepers mind you, with Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary appearing in the last World Cup aged 45, saving a penalty in the process.
3rd - Tony Meola - 100 caps
Both Friedel and Guzan are household names primarily due to their time spent across the pond, but Tony Meola is most definitely one of the MLS’ finest productions. Despite starting his career in England - featuring in the second tier with Brighton - it was with the formerly named Kansas City Wizards where Meola made his name, making 142 appearances between 1999 and 2004.
In the colors of the USMNT, the University of Virginia graduate was first-choice between 1990 and 1993, before becoming number two to Friedel.
2nd - Kasey Keller - 102 caps
After being named MVP for the Portland Timbers in his first campaign as a professional, Keller also traveled across the Atlantic to make his name, signing for Millwall in 1992. The notoriously troublesome fans at The Den took to their American keeper, and he would feature for the South London club on 201 occasions, becoming a fan favorite along the way.
From there, he would go on to feature for a host of clubs, including illustrious names such as Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Monchengladbach, before returning to his native Seattle in 2009.
1st - Tim Howard - 121 caps
Was there any doubt, really? Tim Howard is arguably the greatest goalkeeper the US has ever produced. He delivered the performance of a lifetime against a much-fancied Belgium in the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, cementing his legacy. His sixteen saves is still a World Cup record as we approach the 2022 curtain-raiser.
The New Jersey local shocked the world when he was chosen to be Fabien Barthez’s replacement at Manchester United in 2003. Things didn't really work out at Old Trafford however, he found a new home some 35 miles away, at Goodison Park. Howard was Everton’s undisputed number one for almost nine years, playing 414 times for The Toffees. He returned to the states in 2016 and would appear another 103 times for the Colorado Rapids, taking his career total to an astounding 819.