By now you've probably seen the steady stream of MLS players being named to their countries' preliminary or final World Cup rosters as the final countdown to Russia 2018 begins.
But this year's list is just one segment of the league's long tradition of World Cup participants. The following is a full rundown of that history, from the list of active players currently in the league who have or will taken part in the tournament to the year-by-year MLS annals of World Cup players since its birth in 1996.
Current MLS players who've played in a World Cup
*denotes in 23-man final squad, but did not make appearance
PLAYER |
CLUB |
COUNTRY |
|---|---|---|
Saphir Taider |
MTL |
ALG |
Laurent Ciman* |
LAFC |
BEL |
Haris Medunjanin |
PHI |
BIH |
Felipe Gutierrez |
SKC |
CHI |
Marco Ureña |
LAFC |
CRC |
Roy Miller |
POR |
CRC |
Carlos Gruezo |
DAL |
ECU |
Ashley Cole |
LA |
ENG |
David Villa |
NYC |
ESP |
Bastian Schweinsteiger |
CHI |
GER |
Harrison Afful |
CLB |
GHA |
Jonathan Mensah |
CLB |
GHA |
Maynor Figueroa |
DAL |
HON |
Boniek GarcIa |
HOU |
HON |
Roger Espinoza |
SKC |
HON |
Luis Lopez* |
LAFC |
HON |
Giovani dos Santos |
LA |
MEX |
Carlos Vela |
LAFC |
MEX |
Efrain Juarez |
VAN |
MEX |
Gregory van der Wiel |
TOR |
NED |
Tommy Smith |
COL |
NZL |
Reto Ziegler |
DAL |
SUI |
Philippe Senderos |
HOU |
SUI |
Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
LA |
SWE |
Nicolas Lodeiro |
SEA |
URU |
Ricardo Clark |
CLB |
USA |
Tim Howard |
COL |
USA |
DaMarcus Beasley |
HOU |
USA |
Graham Zusi |
SKC |
USA |
Matt Besler |
SKC |
USA |
Benny Feilhaber |
LAFC |
USA |
Alejandro Bedoya |
PHI |
USA |
Kyle Beckerman |
RSL |
USA |
Clint Dempsey |
SEA |
USA |
Chris Wondolowski |
SJ |
USA |
Michael Bradley |
TOR |
USA |
Jozy Altidore |
TOR |
USA |
Brad Guzan* |
ATL |
USA |
Jonathan Spector* |
ORL |
USA |
Nick Rimando* |
RSL |
USA |
MLS representation by World Cup
(Players who were members of an MLS club at the time they competed in the World Cup, as listed by FIFA registration)
World Cup |
MLS representation |
|---|---|
France 1998 |
21 players from 11 MLS teams representing 6 nations |
Korea/Japan 2002 |
11 players from 9 MLS teams representing 1 nation |
Germany 2006 |
15 players from 8 MLS teams representing 4 nations |
South Africa 2010 |
7 players from 6 MLS teams representing 4 nations |
Brazil 2014 |
21 players from 12 MLS teams representing 8 nations |
World Cup winners who played or coached in MLS
Player/coach |
World Cup win |
MLS team |
|---|---|---|
Branco |
Brazil, 1994 |
MetroStars, 1997 |
Denilson |
Brazil, 2002 |
FC Dallas, 2007 |
Youri Djorkaeff |
France, 1998 |
MetroStars/Red Bulls, 2005-06 |
Thierry Henry |
France, 1998 |
NY Red Bulls, 2010-14 |
Kaká |
Brazil, 2002 |
Orlando City SC, 2015-17 |
Kleberson |
Brazil, 2002 |
Philadelphia Union, 2013 |
Lothar Matthaus |
West Germany, 1990 |
MetroStars, 2000 |
Alessandro Nesta |
Italy, 2006 |
Montreal Impact, 2012-13 |
Andrea Pirlo |
Italy, 2006 |
New York City FC, 2015-17 |
Bastian Schweinsteiger |
Germany, 2014 |
Chicago Fire, 2017-present |
David Villa |
Spain, 2010 |
NYCFC, 2015-present |
Patrick Vieira |
France, 1998 |
NYCFC head coach, 2016-present |
