DaMarcus Beasley made 126 international appearances for the U.S. (Photo courtesy of MLS)

CHICAGO – Having earned more than 100 caps and represented the U.S. men’s national team at four World Cups, the U.S. Soccer Federation will celebrate the contributions of DaMarcus Beasley in a pre-game ceremony prior to the USA-Canada Concacaf Nations League in Orlando, Fla. Friday night.

The ceremony is part of a recently implemented initiative to acknowledge outstanding achievement of any men’s and women’s national team players who earned at least 100 caps and appeared on the roster of at least two world championships – either World Cups or Olympic Games. Retiring USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard first received the recognition prior to USA-Mexico in East Rutherford, N.J. Sept. 6.

In a career defined by longevity, Beasley first made his mark on the international scene when he won the Silver Ball during the USA’s fourth-place finish at the 1999 Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand. The crafty attacker turned left back went on to make history as the only USMNT player to appear in four World Cups, representing the United States at the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native is also the only USMNT player to take part in qualifiers for five World Cups, and one of only two USMNT players to win the Concacaf Gold Cup on four occasions, taking the tournament’s Golden Boot in 2005 and captaining the side to the 2013 title.

Beasley left the international game sitting in the USMNT’s top 10 in appearances (126; seventh overall), goals (17; 10th) and assists (13; 10th), while his 11 caps in World Cup matches leave him tied for second with Cobi Jones and Earnie Stewart, one appearance behind Landon Donovan.

He matched his international career with an impressive club resume. One of the most well-traveled USMNT players, Beasley played professionally in six countries – the U.S. (Chicago Fire, Houston Dynamo), Netherlands (PSV Eindhoven), England (Manchester City), Scotland (Rangers), Germany (Hannover 96) and Mexico (Puebla).

Beasley became the first American to appear in the UEFA Champions League semifinals when he lined up for PSV Eindhoven against AC Milan in 2004, and went onto win 13 pieces of hardware during his club career, including two league titles each with PSV (2004-05, 2005-06) and Rangers (2008-09, 2009-10). On the domestic front, Beasley is a three-time winner of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, winning with Chicago in 2000 and 2003, and captaining Houston to the 2018 title.

Beasley and Howard are the only two USMNT players to earn at least one appearance in 16 calendar years.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.