With the conclusion of the 2015 Gold Cup, World Soccer Source is releasing its rankings of The Best American Soccer Players, a feature also called The Best American Footballers.
World Soccer Source believes that favoring Jürgen Klinsmann’s picks for the U.S. Men’s National Team paints an incomplete picture of the talent in the American player pool. Many of the best American soccer players have seen few to no call-ups under Klinsmann.
This list contains some new additions to MLS plus several young players who are too talented and performing too well to ignore. Another important thing to remember about American soccer players is some of the best ones are relatively new to professional soccer or underrated by their clubs.
Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley stand head and shoulders above all other American players. Benny Feilhaber is also finally receiving almost universal recognition for his outstanding form in MLS as a center midfielder and attacking midfielder.
After these three players, Fabian Johnson stands out, but the rest is debatable.
Below is World Soccer Source’s subjective rankings of The Best American Soccer players for August 2015:
1. Clint Dempsey (Forward); 2. Michael Bradley (Midfielder); 3. Benny Feilhaber (Midfielder); 4. Fabian Johnson (Defender/Midfielder); 5. Geoff Cameron (Defender/Midfielder)
6. Brad Guzan (Goalkeeper); 7. Juan Agudelo (Forward); 8. Sebastian Lletget (Midfielder); 9. Ethan Finlay (Midfielder); 10. Dillon Powers (Midfielder)
11. Tim Howard (Goalkeeper); 12. Jozy Altidore (Forward); 13. DeAndre Yedlin (Defender/Wing); 14. Charlie Davies (Forward); 15. Mix Diskerud (Midfielder)
16. Lee Nguyen (Midfielder); 17. Alejandro Bedoya (Midfielder); 18. Bradford Jamieson IV (Forward/Midfielder); 19. Rubio Rubin (Forward); 20. Dax McCarty (Midfielder)
21. Maurice Edu (Defender/Midfielder); 22. José Villarreal (Midfielder/Forward); 23. Kellyn Acosta (Midfielder/Defender); 24. Andrew Farrell (Defender); 25. Matt Miazga (Defender)
Honorable Mention: Joe Corona (Midfielder); Gyasi Zardes (Forward); Ventura Alvarado (Defender); Greg Garza (Defender)