USMNT, American history in the Premier League: Stats, pioneers, trivia

Who was the first American to play in the Premier League? Which USMNT player has the most career Premier League appearances?

If you’ve ever wondered about questions like the above, you’re in the right place.

[ MORE: Current USMNT and USMNT-eligible players in Europe ]

These stats are according to the Premier League’s definition of American players, which includes U.S. born-players as well as players to have represented the U.S. in international competitions.

Fun fact: Five American-born players — only one of which is active — have played in a Premier League game and not represented the senior USMNT.

• Jemal Johnson (2004-06): Blackburn Rovers
• Johann Smith (2006-07): Bolton Wanderers
• Owen Otasowie (2020-21): Wolves
• Zak Whitbread (2011-12): Norwich City
• Indiana Vassilev (2019-20): Aston Villa

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Who is the first American player to play in a Premier League game?

John Harkes was already playing in England’s top flight when the Premier League was launched, and so his substitute appearance for Sheffield Wednesday in Week 2 of the 1992-93 Premier League season versus Nottingham Forest was the first time an American played in the PL.

15 May 1993: Ian Wright (left) of Arsenal and John Harkes (right) of Sheffield Wednesday chase the ball during the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium in London. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. \ Mandatory Credit: Shaun Botterill/Allsport

Getty Images

Who is the first American player to score a Premier League goal?

You might think it was John Harkes again, and he did score for Sheffield Wednesday against Chelsea in Week 26 of the 1992-93 Premier League season.

But Roy Wegerle scored twice for Blackburn Rovers against Norwich City in Week 10 of that same season, both assisted by PL legend Alan Shearer.

Preki was the third U.S. international to score in that first season of the Premier League, netting for Everton at Middlesbrough in Week 38.

Did any Americans play in England’s top-flight before then?

Yes, but it’s difficult to say how many or who was first. We do know that the 1930 World Cup squad had several Scottish- and English-trained players.

Scotland-born Jim Brown was living in New Jersey when he played for the U.S. in the 1930 World Cup, and went on to play for Manchester United, Brentford, and Spurs. His 1935-36 season at Brentford would’ve been his first in the First Division.

Fellow Scottish player Alexander Wood played for Leicester City in the 1933-34 First Division season, and later turned out for Nottingham Forest and Colchester United.

John Kerr played for Portsmouth in the 1987-88 First Division. He’s currently the head men’s soccer coach at Duke University.

Has a U.S. player ever scored a Premier League hat trick?

Why, yes. Two USMNT players have scored hat tricks in the Premier League.

Clint Dempsey bagged three goals for Fulham against Newcastle United on January 20, 2012, then Christian Pulisic pulled off a flawless hat trick for Chelsea against Burnley on October 26, 2019.

Pulisic's touches v. BUR

Watch every single touch from Christian Pulisic's man-of-the-match performance for Chelsea on Saturday, as the USMNT star celebrated his first career Premier League goal by bagging two more for a perfect hat trick.

Has an American player won the Premier League?

Yes. Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen made a league appearance in each of the club’s 2020-21 and 2021-22 Premier League title runs.

Which U.S. player has appeared in the most Premier League games?

Stats courtesy premierleague.com

1. Brad Friedel, 450
2. Tim Howard, 399 (pictured below)
3. Clint Dempsey, 218
4. Kasey Keller, 201
5. Geoff Cameron, 168
6. Brad Guzan, 154
7. Brian McBride, 148
8. Jonathan Spector, 124
9. Carlos Bocanegra, 116
10. Marcus Hahnemann, 115
11. Antonee Robinson, 111
12. DeAndre Yedlin, 109
13. Claudio Reyna, 105
14. Christian Pulisic, 98
15. Tim Ream, 97
16. Roy Wegerle, 75
17. Jozy Altidore, 70
18. Joe-Max Moore, 52
19. Preki, 46
20. John Harkes, 43
21. Chris Richards, 39
22. Brenden Aaronson, 36
23. Jurgen Sommer, 33
24. Jay DeMerit, 32
25. Eric Lichaj, 32
26. Auston Trusty, 32
27. Tyler Adams, 30
28. Bobby Convey, 29
29. Stu Holden, 28
30. Josh Sargent, 26
31. Eddie Lewis, 25
32. Danny Williams, 25
33. Jovan Kirovski, 23
34. Cobi Jones, 21
35. Eddie Johnson, 19
36. Weston McKennie, 19
37. DaMarcus Beasley, 18
38. Zak Whitbread, 18
39. Landon Donovan, 17
40. Matt Turner, 17
41. Jermaine Jones, 15
42. Lynden Gooch, 11
43. Oguchi Onyewu, 11
44. Benny Feilhaber, 10
45. Giovanni Reyna, 9
46. Jemal Johnson, 6
47. Owen Otasowie, 6
48. Ian Feuer, 5
49. Indiana Vassilev, 4
50. Michael Bradley, 3
51. Brek Shea, 3
52. Folarin Balogun, 2
53. Emerson Hyndman, 2
54. Matt Miazga, 2
55. Zack Steffen, 2
56. Maurice Edu, 1
57. Johann Smith, 1

CARDIFF, WALES - FEBRARY 26: Wes Brown, Tim Howard and John O’Shea of Manchester United pose with the Carling Cup trophy in the dressing room after the Carling Cup Final match between Manchester United and Wigan Athletic at The Millennium Stadium on February 26 2006 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Manchester United via Getty Images

Which USMNT players have scored in the Premier League?

Here are the USMNT’s Premier League goal scorers, sorted by total goals.

Stats courtesy premierleague.com

1. Clint Dempsey, 57
2. Brian McBride, 36
3. Christian Pulisic, 20
4. Roy Wegerle, 13
5. Carlos Bocanegra, 8
6. Joe-Max Moore, 8
7. Claudio Reyna, 7
8. Preki, 4
9. DaMarcus Beasley, 3
10. Jozy Altidore, 2
11. Geoff Cameron, 2
12. Jay DeMerit, 2
13. Landon Donovan, 2
14. John Harkes, 2
15. Stuart Holden, 2
16. Cobi Jones, 2
17. Jovan Kirovski, 2
18. Tim Ream, 2
19. Josh Sargent, 2
20. DeAndre Yedlin, 2
21. Brenden Aaronson, 1
22. Brad Friedel, 1
23. Tim Howard, 1
24. Eric Lichaj, 1
25. Chris Richards, 1
26. Jonathan Spector, 1

Which USMNT players have Premier League assists?

Here are the USMNT’s players to post an assist in the Premier League, sorted by total.

*denotes player who played for U.S. at youth level but did not earn a full national team cap.

Stats courtesy premierleague.com

1. Clint Dempsey, 19
2. Antonee Robinson, 10
3. Brian McBride, 9
4. Christian Pulisic, 9
5. Landon Donovan, 6
6. Roy Wegerle, 6
7. Bobby Convey, 5
8. DeAndre Yedlin, 5
9. Jozy Altidore, 4
10. Geoff Cameron, 4
11. Claudio Reyna, 4
12. Brenden Aaronson, 3
13. Tim Howard, 3
14. Stu Holden, 2
15. Eric Lichaj, 2
16. Joe-Max Moore, 2
17. DaMarcus Beasley, 1
18. Brad Guzan, 1
19. Cobi Jones, 1
20. Kasey Keller, 1
21. Eddie Lewis, 1
22. Weston McKennie, 1
23. Owen Otasowie*, 1
24. Preki, 1
25. Tim Ream, 1
26. Giovanni Reyna, 1
27. Chris Richards, 1
28. Josh Sargent, 1
29. Jonathan Spector, 1
30. Zak Whitbread*, 1

Palmer, Robinson in Data Team of the Season

Leon Osman, Matt Holland, and Leroy Rosenior make their picks for Generation xG's Data Team of the Season, based solely on the metrics.

USMNT-capped players to play in the Premier League

Preki (1992-94): Everton
John Harkes (1992-93, 1995-96, 1998-99): Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham, Nottingham Forest
Roy Wegerle (1992-95): Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City
Cobi Jones (1994-95): Coventry City
Jurgen Sommer (1995-96): Queens Park Rangers
Kasey Keller (1996-99, 2001-05, 2007-08): Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Fulham
Brad Friedel (1997-2014): Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur
Ian Feuer (1999-2000, 2001-02): West Ham, Derby County
Joe-Max Moore (1999-2002): Everton
Claudio Reyna (2001-07): Sunderland, Manchester City
Eddie Lewis (2001-02, 2007-08): Fulham, Derby County
Jovan Kirovski (2002-04): Birmingham City
Brian McBride (2002-08): Everton, Fulham
Tim Howard (2003-16): Manchester United, Everton
Carlos Bocanegra (2003-08): Fulham
Jonathan Spector (2004-11): Manchester United, Charlton Athletic, West Ham
Jemal Johnson (2004-06): Blackburn Rovers
Clint Dempsey (2006-2014: Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur
DaMarcus Beasley (2006-07): Manchester City
Johann Smith (2006-07): Bolton Wanderers
Oguchi Onyewu (2006-07): Newcastle United
Jay DeMerit (2006-07): Watford
Marcus Hahnemann (2006-08, 2009-11): Reading, Wolves
Bobby Convey (2006-08): Reading
Eddie Johnson (2007-08, 2009-11): Fulham
Benny Feilhaber (2007-08): Derby County
Brad Guzan (2008-09, 2009-11): Aston Villa, Wolves
Jozy Altidore (2009-10, 2013-15): Hull City, Sunderland
Landon Donovan (2009-10, 2011-12): Everton
Stu Holden (2009-11): Bolton Wanderers
Jermaine Jones (2010-11): Blackburn Rovers
Michael Bradley (2010-11): Aston Villa
Eric Lichaj (2010-13): Aston Villa
Tim Ream (2011-12, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-24): Bolton Wanderers, Fulham
Zak Whitbread (2011-12): Norwich City
Brek Shea (2012-14): Stoke City
Maurice Edu (2012-13): Stoke City
Geoff Cameron (2012-18): Stoke City
DeAndre Yedlin (2014-16, 2017-21): Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Newcastle
Matt Miazga (2015-16): Chelsea
Lynden Gooch (2016-17): Sunderland
Emerson Hyndman (2017-19): Bournemouth
Danny Williams (2017-19): Huddersfield Town
Christian Pulisic (2019-23): Chelsea
Indiana Vassilev (2019-20): Aston Villa
Zack Steffen (2020-22): Manchester City
Antonee Robinson (2020-21, 2022-present): Fulham
Owen Otasowie (2020-21): Wolves
Folarin Balogun (2021-22): Arsenal
Josh Sargent (2021-22): Norwich City
Brenden Aaronson (2022-23): Leeds
Weston McKennie (2022-23): Leeds
Chris Richards (2022-present): Crystal Palace
Tyler Adams (2022-present): Leeds, Bournemouth
Giovanni Reyna (2023-24): Nottingham Forest
Auston Trusty (2023-24): Sheffield United
Matt Turner (2023-present: Arsenal, Nottingham Forest

U.S.-born players to play in the Premier League

John Harkes (1992-93, 1995-96, 1998-99)
Cobi Jones (1994-95): Coventry City
Jurgen Sommer (1995-96): Queens Park Rangers
Kasey Keller (1996-99, 2001-05, 2007-08): Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Fulham
Brad Friedel (1997-2014): Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur
Ian Feuer (1999-2000, 2001-02): West Ham, Derby County
Joe-Max Moore (1999-2002): Everton
Claudio Reyna (2001-07): Sunderland, Manchester City
Eddie Lewis (2001-02, 2007-08): Fulham, Derby County
Jovan Kirovski (2002-04): Birmingham City
Brian McBride (2002-08): Everton, Fulham
Tim Howard (2003-16): Manchester United, Everton
Carlos Bocanegra (2003-08): Fulham
Jonathan Spector (2004-11): Manchester United, Charlton Athletic, West Ham
Jemal Johnson (2004-06): Blackburn Rovers
Clint Dempsey (2006-2014: Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur
DaMarcus Beasley (2006-07): Manchester City
Johann Smith (2006-07): Bolton Wanderers
Oguchi Onyewu (2006-07): Newcastle United
Jay DeMerit (2006-07): Watford
Marcus Hahnemann (2006-08, 2009-11): Reading, Wolves
Bobby Convey (2006-08): Reading
Eddie Johnson (2007-08, 2009-11): Fulham
Brad Guzan (2008-09, 2009-11): Aston Villa, Wolves
Jozy Altidore (2009-10, 2013-15): Hull City, Sunderland
Landon Donovan (2009-10, 2011-12): Everton
Michael Bradley (2010-11): Aston Villa
Eric Lichaj (2010-13): Aston Villa
Tim Ream (2011-12, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-24): Bolton Wanderers, Fulham
Zak Whitbread (2011-12): Norwich City
Brek Shea (2012-14): Stoke City
Maurice Edu (2012-13): Stoke City
Geoff Cameron (2012-18): Stoke City
DeAndre Yedlin (2014-16, 2017-21): Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Newcastle
Matt Miazga (2015-16): Chelsea
Lynden Gooch (2016-17): Sunderland
Emerson Hyndman (2017-19): Bournemouth
Christian Pulisic (2019-23): Chelsea
Indiana Vassilev (2019-20): Aston Villa
Zack Steffen (2020-22): Manchester City
Owen Otasowie (2020-21): Wolves
Folarin Balogun (2021-22): Arsenal
Josh Sargent (2021-22): Norwich City
Brenden Aaronson (2022-23): Leeds
Weston McKennie (2022-23): Leeds
Chris Richards (2022-present): Crystal Palace
Tyler Adams (2022-present): Leeds, Bournemouth
Auston Trusty (2023-24): Sheffield United
Matt Turner (2023-present: Arsenal, Nottingham Forest