Lee Nguyen has waited nearly 2,700 days -- over seven years.
If the New England Revolution midfield star takes the field in Friday's international friendly against Colombia (2:45 pm ET, ESPN and UniMas), it would mark exactly 2,688 days between appearances for the US national team, the third-longest wait between caps in US soccer history.
Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann waited nine years (3,101 days between 1994-2003), while MLS original Ramiro Corrales earned another call-up after a span of 2,845 days.
| Longest gap between US national team caps Field Players | ||||
| Player | Years | Days | ||
| Ramiro Corrales | 1997-2004 | 2,845 | ||
| Lee Nguyen | 2007-2014 | 2,688 | ||
| Edson Buddle | 2003-2010 | 2,632 | ||
| Dale Ervine | 1986-1993 | 2,601 | ||
| John Thorrington | 2001-2008 | 2,572 | ||
Nguyen last wore the red, white and blue as the youngest player on the 2007 Copa America squad, 18 days younger than then 20-year-old Eddie Gaven. That US roster was full of young players looking to make their mark: Kyle Beckerman, Jonathan Bornstein, Ricardo Clark, Jay DeMerit, Benny Feilhaber, Herculez Gomez, and Brad Guzan all came into the tournament with fewer than 10 caps, but they would all later feature on World Cup squads.
Things didn't quite work out that way for Nguyen, who over the last seven years has played in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Vietnam, struggling to find any consistency.
The 2014 season has easily been Nguyen's best as a professional with 18 goals in the regular season and two more in the playoffs, where the Revs have reached the Eastern Conference Championship.
And now he's not only of the leading MLS MVP candidates in 2014 and a surefire lock for a Best XI selection, but he's now also caught the eye of USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann. And if the 28 year old's run of form continues, there's no reason to believe Nguyen will have to wait too much longer before he's in another US camp.
