Top 30 men's players in CONCACAF right now — Where do USMNT stars rank?

There’s been a lot of talk about expectations for the United States men’s national team, and we’ve happily engaged in those discussions (see above video), but what is reasonable for Mauricio Pochettino’s Yanks?

After all, this team’s upward trajectory may have stalled when it comes to performances in high-profile tournaments — the 2014 World Cup and 2009 Confederations Cup at times feel like a different century not the previous decades.

MORE — What we learned from USMNT 1-2 Canada | Pulisic reacts to loss

But the collective talent on this team is massive, with both MLS and European academies churning out American talent while some of the biggest clubs in the world count on Americans in big spots: Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, and Timothy Weah are chewing up minutes for two of Italy’s biggest clubs, while Tyler Adams, Johnny Cardoso, and Antonee Robinson are mainstays at good-performing clubs in the Premier League and La Liga.

On the latest ProSoccerTalk episode, Joe Prince-Wright, Andy Edwards, and I discussed the expectations for the USMNT and if they are too high. I argued that it depends on your expectations, contending that the USMNT’s goals should be to be the dominant program in CONCACAF and to contend in knockout round games at World Cups and Copas America.

But is that fair? Mexico is in a down period but remain just ahead of the USMNT in world renown, while Canada have been punching above their weight and Jamaica is harvesting dual-national talent from England and has some real stars.

So let’s attempt an exercise in perspective: Where do the USMNT’s best players rank amongst the very best in CONCACAF?

Pretty high.

This is a list that could change within a month’s notice — In fact, Alphonso Davies is only here out of honor given his ACL tear suffered against the USMNT. Giovanni Reyna is, at the moment, missing from the list despite a talent level and history that demands top-15 rating, but his past two seasons have been quite poor. Sergino Dest is just coming back from a long injury lay-off and Michail Antonio is in the middle of a long absence. Hirving Lozano has moved to MLS and needs to re-establish his star status in San Diego.

This list tries to strike a balance between production, form, earned reputation, and common sense. Sheraldo Becker makes the list even though he’s far down Real Sociedad’s depth chart, as his Union Berlin exploits haven’t disintegrated in the memory.

Top 30 players in CONCACAF

30. Sheraldo Becker (Suriname, Real Sociedad)
29. Luis Romo (Mexico, Chivas Guadalajara)
28. Alex Zendejas (USMNT, Club America)
27. Tanner Tessmann (USMNT, Lyon)
26. Adalberto Carrasquilla (Panama, UNAM Pumas)
25. Moise Bombito (Canada, Nice)
24. Ethan Pinnock (Jamaica, Brentford)
23. Michael Murillo (Panama, Marseille)
22. Alonso Martinez (Costa Rica, NYCFC)
21. Ricardo Pepi (USMNT, PSV Eindhoven)

A lot of form guys here. Martinez and Zendejas have been red hot. Moise Bombito’s advanced stats aren’t screaming off the page but his reputation is growing in Ligue 1. Pepi’s struggled with injuries and was not a regular starter but his insane super sub numbers — 18 goals and three assists in only 1,132 minutes — cannot be ignored on this list.

20. Chris Richards (USMNT, Crystal Palace)
19. Alexis Vega (Mexico, Toluca)
18. Folarin Balogun (USMNT, Monaco)
17. Yunus Musah (USMNT, AC Milan)
16. Stephen Eustaquio (Canada, Porto)
15. Johnny Cardoso (USMNT, Real Betis)
14. Malik Tillman (USMNT, PSV Eindhoven)
13. Edson Alvarez (Mexico, West Ham)
12. Weston McKennie (USMNT, Juventus)
11. Johan Vasquez (Mexico, Genoa)

Vega is another form guy, while Richards continues to improve under Oliver Glasner at Palace even if his USMNT’s performances haven’t always (often?) hit that level. Balogun badly needs to get healthy. Then comes the glut of USMNT midfielders. Vasquez is in brilliant form for Genoa and at 26 years old is the best center back in the confederation by some distance.

10. Timothy Weah (USMNT, Juventus)
9. Leon Bailey (Jamaica, Aston Villa)
8. Manfred Ugalde (Costa Rica, Spartak Moscow)
7. Raul Jimenez (Mexico, Fulham)
6. Tyler Adams (USMNT, Bournemouth)
5. Santiago Gimenez (Mexico, AC Milan)
4. Antonee Robinson (USMNT, Fulham)
3. Jonathan David (Canada, Lille)
2. Christian Pulisic (USMNT, AC Milan)
1. Alphonso Davies (Canada, Bayern Munich)

Bailey needs to find more production to stay in the top 20, let alone the top 10, but he is behind talented players at Villa. Ugalde is a wild card given the Russian league’s invisibility outside of, well, Russia — He does have a goal for Los Ticos against Argentina. Adams has a claim to top-4 status and should have plenty of chances to rise up the list should he stay healthy. Gimenez might be a bit too high on this list but he’s off to a solid start in Milan after ridiculous showings in the Eredivisie. CONCACAF has two of the best left backs in the world in Robinson and Davies, the latter of whom barely edges Pulisic on the consistent stardom he’s shown for a half-decade in the Bundesliga.