Eric Lichaj

Eric Lichaj is the third son of Stan and Ann Lichaj, who were both from Nowy Targ, Poland. He has two older brothers, Andrew and Mark Lichaj. At the age of 14, Lichaj joined the soccer residency program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He began his youth career with the Downers Grove Roadrunners, later played with Chicago Fire's youth side, and then spent one year at the University of North Carolina. He also played four games for the Chicago Fire Premier of the USL Premier Development League. After his freshman season, Lichaj signed with English Premier League club Aston Villa. Lichaj holds a Polish passport, making a work permit unnecessary.

Aston Villa

Following a season in the Aston Villa youth side, Lichaj featured in all but two of Villa's Reserve matches during the 2008–09 season. During the 2009–10 pre-season, he was selected for the 2009 Peace Cup squad and showed glimpses of his potential during the friendly tournament. This, however, did not immediately translate into playing time for the first team. Lichaj was loaned out to League Two club Lincoln City to gain first-team experience. He played two games for Lincoln before signing a one-month loan extension. Later in the season, Lichaj again went on a month-long loan, this time to League One side Leyton Orient. He scored the first professional goal of his career for Leyton Orient against Stockport County on April 17, 2010. Lichaj scored his first goal for Aston Villa on July 19, 2010, in a pre-season…

Lichaj has been involved with various U.S. youth teams. He helped the U.S. qualify for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship and was named in the United States U-20 squad for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, although he missed out due to injury. He was called into the senior team as a "guest" for the camp preceding two World Cup qualifiers in June 2009. Lichaj received his first call-up to the United States senior team in October 2010 and was included in the squad for the friendlies against Poland and Colombia. Lichaj collected his first cap on October 12, 2010, in the friendly against Colombia. On November 17, 2010, Lichaj gained his second cap when he started for the U.S. against South Africa. On March 21, 2011, Lichaj received a call-up to the U.S. national side for the games against Argentina and Paraguay. He was named in the U.S. 2011 Gold Cup squad; after sitting on the bench for the first two Gold Cup matches, Lichaj played all 90 minutes of the last four, including the 4–2 loss in the final against Mexico. In 2013, Lichaj returned to international duty after a two-year absence, making two substitute appearances for the U.S. against Scotland and Austria in November. In May 2016, Lichaj was again recalled by the U.S., as part of the preliminary Copa América Centenario roster, and for a friendly match against Puerto Rico, in which he appeared as a substitute. During a 2017 Gold Cup quarterfinal match against El Salvador on July 19, 2017, Lichaj scored his first…

Club

As of March 31, 2022

International

As of September 11, 2018

Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first.