Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at three FIFA World Cup tournaments.

He is the current holder of the Premier League record for most consecutive appearances with 310, a feat he achieved during spells at Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.

Friedel is also officially Aston Villa's oldest-ever player, a record he set on February 1, 2011, by playing in the club's Premier League fixture away at Manchester United.

[5] On May 6, 2012, Friedel also became the oldest player to appear in a competitive match for Tottenham when he played in the club's Premier League fixture at Aston Villa, beating Jimmy Cantrell's near-80-year-old record.

[citation needed] Friedel was signed by manager Kevin Keegan of Newcastle United,[12][failed verification] but again was denied a work permit.

[18] When Friedel again failed to receive a British work permit, his agent negotiated a $1.1 million transfer from the USSF to leading Turkish team Galatasaray in 1995.

In July 1996, following the end of the Turkish season, Friedel moved to the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer (MLS).

While Friedel had some initial success with the Reds, he soon had a difficult time, managing just over 30 games in almost three years, including two appearances in the UEFA Cup, as he sat behind first David James and later Sander Westerveld.

A stunning performance away at Southampton prompted Gordon Strachan to liken him to Superman: "Friedel must have got changed in a telephone box.

At the end of the 2002–03 season, Friedel's 15 clean sheets earned him Blackburn's Player of the Year award, as well as selection to the Premiership Starting XI.

On February 21, 2004, in an away game against Charlton Athletic, Friedel scored a goal from open play in the 90th minute, from a corner kick.

[21] He became just the second goalkeeper in Premier League history (excluding own goals) to score, after Peter Schmeichel for Aston Villa in 2001.

[24] Friedel had asked Blackburn for permission to let him speak with Aston Villa if an offer was accepted, with Manchester City reportedly interested in signing the American.

He was unveiled at half-time during Villa's Intertoto Cup match against Odense, and made his debut against Reading on August 2 at the Madejski Stadium; just ten minutes in, the hosts were awarded a penalty, which Friedel then saved.

Friedel's red card, which he received on the Sunday beforehand, was overturned by the FA on March 24, meaning that he was able to continue his streak of consecutive Premiership appearances.

[27] Friedel's run of 310 consecutive Premier League games was ended on October 7, 2012, when he was named on the bench behind Lloris against Aston Villa.

[30][31] Following Lloris' failure to fully recover from a head injury, Friedel returned to the starting lineup in a league match on November 10, 2013, but was unable to prevent Tottenham from losing 1–0 to Newcastle United, with the winning goal being scored by Loïc Rémy.

He lived up to his growing reputation in the 2002 World Cup as the U.S. went on a surprising run to the quarter-finals, which included a 3–2 victory over Portugal in group play, and a 2–0 second-round win over arch-rival Mexico before a loss to Germany (the eventual runner-up).

[40] On November 9, 2017, Friedel was named head coach of the New England Revolution, replacing Jay Heaps who was fired by the club in September 2017.

[42] Though raised in the midwestern state of Ohio, Friedel developed a slight English accent after having lived in the north of that country for more than a decade.

"[46] In 2007, Friedel launched a non-profit soccer academy in Lorain, Ohio, at a cost of approximately $10 million, providing coaching on a full-tuition scholarship basis to youths aged 12 and older.

[49] In January of that year, Friedel filed for bankruptcy protection in the United Kingdom as a result of debts arising from the academy.