From Landon Donovan to Tim Howard: Naming the USMNT's all-time World Cup Best XI

Tim Howard's impact shouldn't be limited to one single game, but when that match is the particular one we're all thinking about, it's somewhat fair.

Howard's performance against Belgium wasn't just the best USMNT goalkeeping performance ever; it might be the best goalkeeping performance ever, full stop. In the end, he made 16 saves, earning his nickname as the Secretary of Defense while also earning a place in World Cup lore forever.

Ultimately, Howard played far more than one World Cup game, starting for the USMNT at two tournaments. His place in history is solidified, though, largely due to that one massive moment, or, more specifically, those 16 massive moments.

He wasn't a left-back at the start, but he did finish his career there, and there's no way you could leave him off this list, right?

Beasley is the only American to play in four World Cups, going from the high-flying young star in 2002 all the way to a role as the team's premier veteran in 2014. There were some highs and lows along the way, but there's a reason Beasley stuck around for all those years, and it's because those lows were few and far between. Few players have had the presence of Beasley, whose ability to evolve built his legacy in American soccer.

He never quite gets the credit he deserves, but Pope is getting his flowers here.

The central defender played nine career World Cup games, but the best five of those came in 2002. That summer, he was the anchor of the team's historic run, cementing his place as the center back of his generation. All these years later, he remains one of the best to have played for the U.S., and he did so during the team's biggest and best run.

Another center back who never got the headlines, and how could he when you had the media darling that is Alexi Lalas playing alongside you?

That said, Balboa was as solid as they come, particularly at the 1994 World Cup. His presence that summer was undeniable as he was one of the key pillars of the team that changed American soccer. Balboa bridged eras, too, appearing at the 1990 and 1998 tournaments, too, to help lay the foundation for all who came after.

If there's a word to describe Cherundolo, it's probably ever-present. That's what he was for club and country.

That was the case particularly in 2010, when Cherundolo played every minute for the USMNT. He made an impact, too, assisting Landon Donovan to help the USMNT's crucial comeback against Slovenia in the second game. That summer was Cherundolo's second World Cup run, but it was the most memorable for the Mayor of Hannover.

To date, Reyna is the only American man to be named to a World Cup Team of the Tournament. That provides just the slightest indication of how good he was in 2002.

Just look at the names alongside him in that team that summer: Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack, Sol Campbell, Oliver Kahn, El Hadji Diouf. Reyna earned his place among them during the USMNT's historic 2002 run, despite missing the USMNT's opener against Portugal due to injury. Over the next four games, Reyna was spectacular, though, as he put in what, to date, remains the best World Cup run of any American player.

He had just one World Cup run, but during that run, Jones certainly made his mark.

After just narrowly missing the 2010 tournament due to injury, Jones was a key figure in 2014. He started against Ghana in the opener, but it was against Portugal that he solidified his spot in history by scoring a stunning goal against Portugal that will be replayed on American highlight reels forever. One goal doesn't earn a place on this list, even one as great as that one, but Jones' performances as a whole certainly do.

Dempsey went to three World Cups, and he scored in all three. It's a testament to both his longevity and his ability. Few have done it better than Deuce.

He scored his first World Cup goal against Ghana in 2006, and he was the only American to find the back of the net in that tournament. He was back at it again in 2010, netting against England via the infamous Robert Green goal, although he should have had another against Algeria if not for a controversial offside call. Then, in 2014, Dempsey wasted no time, scoring just 29 seconds into the team's World Cup opener against Ghana before then scoring against Portugal, too.

Legacies are written in World Cups, and Dempsey never missed a chance to further his under the bright lights.

The architect of the most iconic USMNT's World Cup moment, but Donovan had plenty of those.

He burst onto the scene in 2002 as a rising star, and he solidified that label with his performances at that World Cup. He was the best young player in the tournament that year, raising expectations sky high. After a disappointing 2006, Donovan became iconic in 2010, scoring that goal against Algeria to send the USMNT through to the knockout rounds in the most dramatic of ways.

Donovan remains the USMNT's all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with five, including three during that 2010 run. All World Cup goals are big, of course, but when the USMNT needed someone to score the biggest one, Donovan was fittingly the one who popped up to get it done.

For most fans, this entry will be met with one collective reaction: who? Patenaude isn't a modern star and he sure isn't a household name. He is a history-maker, though.

A member of the USMNT's 1930 World Cup team, Patenaude had the best game of the inaugural World Cup. On July 17, 1930, he scored the World Cup's first-ever hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Paraguay. There have been a total of 53 since, but Patenaude will always be the first as, against all odds, an American remains one of the key figures in the World Cup's storied history.

A three-time World Cup veteran, McBride made history by being the first American to score at two of the game's greatest tournaments. While that record has since been surpassed, McBride is still very worthy of this recognition based on how crucial he was for some of the USMNT's biggest moments.

After getting a taste of the global stage in 1998 while scoring the USMNT's only goal that year, McBride was a crucial piece of the 2002 run, scoring against Portugal in the group stage before scoring eight minutes in to the Dos a Cero triumph over Mexico. He stuck around through 2006, too, famously taking an elbow to the face from Daniele De Rossi during that run. After that World Cup, McBride called it a career as, to that point, the team's most dangerous attacker of the modern era.