USA Soccer Teams

Nearly 25 million Americans play soccer, with the best able to dream about a professional career and international competition. FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, counts around 1,500 professional players in the U.S. Stars such as Mia Hamm and Landon Donovan, who play on U.S.-based teams, have shown that, even though their sport is taken more seriously in Europe and Latin America than domestically, they can compete and prevail at the highest level.

U.S. Women's National Team

The U.S. women, with two decades of success at the highest levels, continue as of 2011 to hold the No. 1 spot in the FIFA World Ranking, based on its performance in international competition of the last four years. The team won the Women's World Cup in 1991 and 1999, finished third in 1995, 2003 and 2007, and won the Olympic gold medal in 1996, 2004 and 2008. Michelle Akers, known for clutch game-winning goals under pressure, and Hamm are the breakthrough stars of U.S. women's soccer, both named as the only women and only Americans on Pele's list of the top 125 living soccer players. Hamm scored 158 goals in international play from 1991 to 2004, the most of any man or woman as of 2011. Midfielder Kristine Lilly had the most international appearances, called "caps," of any man or woman in soccer, with 352.

U.S. Men's National Team

As of 2011, the U.S. Men's National Team ranked 11th in the world, behind Slovenia and ahead of France. The men rank first in North America, ahead of Mexico and Jamaica. Its highest finish in the FIFA World Cup was third in the inaugural cup in 1930, held in Uruguay. The men have eight additional appearances in the cup, in 1934 and 1950, and in all the cups from 1990 through 2010. Donovan as of 2011 has the most international goals with 128, and Cobi Jones the most caps with 164. The team traditionally features athletic, top-caliber goalkeepers, including Tony Meola, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Kasey Keller.

Major League Soccer

In 1996, the U.S. launched Major League Soccer with 10 teams, the keeping of U.S. Soccer's 1988 promise to FIFA to field a professional league to build the sport in return for the granting of the U.S. bid to host the 1994 World Cup bid. As of 2011, 18 teams, including expansion ones in Vancouver and Portland, comprise Major League Soccer, with another team set to debut in 2012 in Montreal.

Women's Professional Soccer

The six teams of Women's Professional Soccer serve as the summertime home of many women's national team players, as well as athletes from top foreign teams. The Washington Freedom, Atlanta Beat and Boston Breakers are revival teams from an earlier women's professional league, the Women's United Soccer Association or WUSA, which ran from 2001 to 2003, joined by the new Chicago Red Stars, Philadelphia Independence and Sky Blue FC, representing New Jersey and New York. The Western New York Flash are scheduled to join the WPS in 2011 as an expansion team.