USMNT Prepares for World Cup Qualifier at Honduras, Life Without Landon Donovan

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 5, 2013

commentComment        

He shot to stardom in Japan and Korea in 2002 and scored his country's most famous goal in a generation eight years later. He's been called "arguably the greatest" United States national team player ever by one of the current squad's promising talents. But as the U.S. begins the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying this week, Landon Donovan won't be there.

As for what that means, we're all about to find out.

The U.S. will play at Honduras on Wednesday (kickoff 4 p.m. ET, with TV coverage on beIN Sport) in both teams' opening match of the so-called "hexagonal," the six-team final group of World Cup qualifiers in the North and Central American region. As Ives Galarcep at Soccer By Ives points out, Wednesday's match will mark the first time since July 1, 2001 that Donovan has missed a "qualifying match that matters."

That amounts to 20 qualifying matches over more than 11 years and three World Cup cycles. Donovan did not make an appearance in two 2005 qualifiers, but at the time of those matches, the U.S. had already qualified for the 2006 World Cup.

The implications are as impossible to ignore as Donovan's sterling resume. At 20, he played a starring role as the U.S. advanced to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. At the 2010 Cup, he scored the dramatic late winner against Algeria as the U.S. advanced to the second round.

He is the U.S. team's all-time leader in goals (49) and assists (48). He is a four-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award and seven-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award. With 144 career appearances for the senior team, he is the most-capped active American player.

But in the Jurgen Klinsmann era, Donovan has been a bit-part player, and mostly by choice.



Since Klinsmann took over from Bob Bradley as U.S. coach in July 2011, Donovan has played eight times for his country (the U.S. has played 22 total matches under Klinsmann duri...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!