USA boss Juergen Klinsmann was full of praise for captain Clint Dempsey after Sunday's 4-3 win over Germany in Washington.
The Tottenham star scored a brace as the US held off a fast-finishing German side and his output was not lost on Klinsmann who is well aware his skipper will not be resting on this performance with a trio of vital World Cup qualifiers coming this month.
"The important parts of Clint's game right now is having all the tools a player needs to play at the highest level," said Klinsmann.
"What is most important is the drive he has, the hunger. You know he's not satisfied with two goals today against Germany. He always looks for the next game. He's always asking what's next for me.
"This is one of the reasons why I made him captain, because all the players look at him and see the hunger and they see this drive and they see him get upset or something like that and it's just really important for our players to get that hunger and drive to push yourself.
"With his game right now, Clint is right with some of the best players in the world, and certainly the top player in the United States.
"This is important because he sends signals on and off the field; you need someone to send those signals to the opponents."
