Who is the USMNT's GOAT? Current and former national teamers choose the best of the U.S. men

With the United States men's national team in preparations for the World Cup, a new generation of players is inching closer toward the opportunity of a lifetime. In Qatar this fall, the roster will be full of young, talented players getting their first major stage to start building their legacies. For all they have done to establish themselves at the club level in recent years, nothing can compare with the stakes of the world's most-watched sporting event.

Performances at the World Cup will forever shape how players are remembered. That, more than anything, is why Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are the first two names that come to mind when any conversation takes place asking about the GOAT of the USMNT. It's that way for fans and, as a recent ESPN poll shows, it's that way for a group of mostly active players who have international appearances to their names.

ESPN asked current and former Major League Soccer-based U.S. internationals who aren't in camp with the USMNT a simple question: Who is the greatest USMNT player of all time?

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Here are the results: Donovan 22, Dempsey 17, Claudio Reyna 2, Tyler Adams 2, DaMarcus Beasley 1. And before you get up in arms over the lack of inclusion of goalkeeping luminaries such as Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller and Tim Howard, several respondents stated explicitly that there should be a separate category for shot stoppers. — Bonagura

Very little separates the national team careers of Donovan and Dempsey: 36 assists (in favor of Donovan), 16 appearances (also in Donovan's favor) and one Gold Cup (again, advantage Donovan). They jointly own the USMNT's