Who was the first American to play in the Premier League? Which USMNT player has made the most Premier League appearances of all time?
If you have had any of the above questions, you’ve come to the right place.
[ MORE: Current USMNT and USMNT-eligible players in Europe ]
These statistics are based on the Premier League’s definition of an American player, which includes not only players born in the United States but also players who have represented the United States in international competition.
Fun fact: Five American-born players (only one of whom is an active player) have played in a Premier League match but have never been selected for the senior USMNT squad.
Jemal Johnson (2004-06): Blackburn RoversJohan Smith (2006-07): Bolton WanderersOwen O’Tasowie (2020-21): WolvesZach Whitbread (2011-12): Norwich CityIndiana Vasilev (2019-20): Aston Villa
Who was the first American player to play in a Premier League match?
John Harkes was already playing in the English top flight when the Premier League was inaugurated, becoming the first American to play in the Premier League when he appeared as a substitute for Sheffield Wednesday in their match against Nottingham Forest in the second week of the 1992-93 Premier League season.
15 May 1993: Arsenal’s Ian Wright (left) and Sheffield Wednesday’s John Harkes (right) chase the ball during the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium in London. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. \ Mandatory Credit: Sean Botterill/AllSports
Who was the first American player to score a goal in the Premier League?
You might think it’s John Harkes again, but he scored in the 26th week of the 1992-93 Premier League season, against Sheffield Wednesday against Chelsea.
However, in week 10 of that season, Blackburn Rovers’ Roy Wegerle scored two goals against Norwich City, both of which were assisted by Premier League legend Alan Shearer.
Puleki became just the third United States player to score in a Premier League season, scoring for Everton in their 38th week win over Middlesbrough.
Had any Americans played in the English top league before?
Yes, but we don’t know how many there were or who was the first. We do know that the 1930 World Cup team had several players who had been trained in Scotland and England.
Scottish-born Jim Brown was living in New Jersey when he played for the United States at the 1930 World Cup, but went on to play for Manchester United, Brentford and Spurs, the 1935-36 season with Brentford would have been his first in the First Division.
Fellow Scot, Alexander Wood, played for First Division side Leicester City in the 1933-34 season, and later played for Nottingham Forest and Colchester United.
John Carr played for First Division Portsmouth in 1987-88 and is currently the head men’s soccer coach at Duke University.
Has an American player ever scored a hat trick in the Premier League?
Yes, that’s right, two USMNT players scored hat tricks in the Premier League.
Clint Dempsey scored three goals for Fulham against Newcastle United on 20 January 2012, before Christian Pulisic scored a perfect hat-trick for Chelsea against Burnley on 26 October 2019.
Pulisic’s touch against BUR
Watch every touch of Christian Pulisic during his Man of the Match performance against Chelsea on Saturday, as the US star celebrated his first Premier League goal and then scored two more for a perfect hat trick.
Has an American player ever won the Premier League?
Yes, Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen played in league matches during the club’s 2020-21 and 2021-22 Premier League title-winning seasons.
Which American player has appeared in the most Premier League games?
Statistics provided by premierleague.com
Brad Friedel, 450 Tim Howard, 399 (pictured below) Clint Dempsey, 218 Kasey Keller, 201 Geoff Cameron, 168 Brad Guzan, 154 Brian McBride, 148 Jonathan Spector, 124 Carlos Bocanegra, 116 Marcus Hahnemann, 115 DeAndre Yedlin, 109 Claudio Reyna, 105 Antonee Robinson, 101 Christian Pulisic, 98 Tim Ream, 97 Roy Wegel, 75 Jozy Altidore, 70 Joe Max Moore, 52 Preki, 46 John Harkes, 43 Brenden Aaronson, 36 Chris Richards, 36 Jurgen Sommer, 33 Jay Demeritt, 32 Eric Richai, 32 Aus Ton Trusty, 32 Bobby Convey, 29 Stu Holden, 28 Tyler Adams, 27 Josh Sargent, 26 Eddie Lewis, 25 Danny Williams, 25 Jovan Kirovski, 23 Cobi Jones, 21 Eddie Johnson, 19 Weston McKennie, 19 DaMarcus Beasley, 18 Zach Whitbread, 18 Landon Donovan, 17 Matt Turner, 17 Jermaine Jones, 15 Linden Gooch, 11 Oguchi Onyewu, 11 Benny Feilhaber, 10 Giovanni Reyna, 9 Jemal Johnson, 6 Owen Otasowie, 6 Ian Feuer, 5 Indiana Vasilev, 4 Michael Bradley, 3 Breck Shea, 3 Folarin Balogun, 2 Emerson Hyndman, 2 Matt Miazga, 2 Zach Steffen, 2 Maurice Edu, 1 Johan Smith, 1
CARDIFF, WALES – FEBRUARY 26: Manchester United’s Wes Brown, Tim Howard and John O’Shea pose with the Carling Cup trophy in the dressing room after the Carling Cup Final (Manchester United vs Wigan Athletic) at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on February 26, 2006. (Photo by Jon Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Manchester United via Getty Images
Which USMNT players have scored goals in the Premier League?
Below are the USMNT Premier League goal scorers ranked by total goals scored.
Statistics provided by premierleague.com
Clint Dempsey, 57 Brian McBride, 36 Christian Pulisic, 20 Roy Wegerle, 13 Carlos Bocanegra, 8 Joe Max Moore, 8 Claudio Reyna, 7 Preki, 4 DaMarcus Beasley, 3 Jozy Altidore, 2 Geoff Cameron, 2 Jay Demeritt, 2 Landon Donovan, 2 John Harkes, 2 Stuart Holden, 2 Cobi Jones, 2 Jovan Kirovski, 2 Tim Ream, 2 Josh Sargent, 2 DeAndre Yedlin, 2 Brenden Aaronson, 1 Brad Friedel, 1 Tim Howard, 1 Eric Richai, 1 Chris Richards, 1 Jonathan Spector, 1
Which USMNT players have provided the most assists in the Premier League?
Here are the U.S. Men’s National Team players who recorded assists in the Premier League, ranked by total assists.
* denotes players who played at youth level for the U.S. but did not earn a full cap with the national team.
Statistics provided by premierleague.com
Clint Dempsey, 19 Brian McBride, 9 Christian Pulisic, 9 Antonee Robinson, 7 Landon Donovan, 6 Roy Wegerle, 6 Bobby Convey, 5 DeAndre Yedlin, 5 Jozy Altidore, 4 Geoff Cameron, 4 Claudio Reyna, 4 Brenden Aaronson, 3 Tim Howard, 3 Stu Holden, 2 Eric Richai, 2 Joe Max Moore, 2 DaMarcus Beasley, 1 Brad Guzan, 1 Cobi Jones, 1 Kasey Keller, 1 Eddie Lewis, 1 Weston McKennie, 1 Owen Otasowie*, 1 Preki, 1 Tim Ream, 1 Giovanni Reyna, 1 Chris Richards, 1 Josh Sargent, 1 Jonathan Spector, 1 Zach Whitbread*, 1
Palmer and Robinson named in Stat Team of the Season
Leon Osman, Matt Holland and Leroy Rosenior have named Generation xG’s Data Team of the Season based on the metric alone.
US players playing 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
Coby 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 Foyer (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
Johan Smith (2006-07): Bolton Wanderers
Oguchi Onyewu (2006-07): Newcastle United
Jay Demeritt (2006-07): Watford
Marcus Hahnemann (2006-08, 2009-11): Reading, Wolves
Bobby Convey (2006-08): Reading
Eddie Johnson (2007-08, 2009-11): Fulham
Benny Failhaber (2007-08): Derby County
Brad Guzan (2008-09, 2009-11): Aston Villa, Wolverhampton
Jozy Altidore (2009-10, 2013-15): Hull City, Sunderland
Landon Donovan (2009-10, 2011-12): Everton
Stuart Holden (2009-11): Bolton Wanderers
Jermaine Jones (2010–11): Blackburn Rovers
Michael Bradley (2010-11): Aston Villa
Eric Richai (2010-13): Aston Villa
Tim Ream (2011-12, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-24): Bolton Wanderers, Fulham
Zak Whitbread (2011-12): Norwich City
Breck Shay (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 Vasilev (2019-20): Aston Villa
Zack Steffen (2020-22): Manchester City
Anthony 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): Crystal Palace
Tyler Adams (as of 2022): Leeds, Bournemouth
Giovanni Reyna (2023-24): Nottingham Forest
Auston Trusty (2023-24): Sheffield United
Matt Turner (As of 2023: Arsenal, Nottingham Forest)
American-born players playing in the Premier League
John Harkes (1992-93, 1995-96, 1998-99)
Coby 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 Foyer (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
Johan Smith (2006-07): Bolton Wanderers
Oguchi Onyewu (2006-07): Newcastle United
Jay Demeritt (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 Richai (2010-13): Aston Villa
Tim Ream (2011-12, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-24): Bolton Wanderers, Fulham
Zak Whitbread (2011-12): Norwich City
Breck Shay (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 Vasilev (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): Crystal Palace
Tyler Adams (as of 2022): Leeds, Bournemouth
Auston Trusty (2023-24): Sheffield United
Matt Turner (As of 2023: Arsenal, Nottingham Forest)