Landon Donovan’s Final International Appearance For USMNT A Well-Deserved Send-off

By Adam Clifton @adamdclifton on October 7, 2014

Following his omission from the USMNT at the 2014 World Cup, Landon Donovan probably assumed he would never get the chance to take the field as a member of the national team again. However, Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has added Donovan to the roster for the October 10 friendly against Ecuador.

Due to the timing and nature of this matchup, the focus of this game is likely to be Donovan. Arguably the best player in U.S. soccer history, Donovan has been the face of the team for over a decade. He is the all-time leader in both goals scored and assists for the USMNT. In scoring three goals at the 2010 World Cup, Donovan became the highest-scoring American in World Cup history.

As he will be hanging up his cleats at the end of the MLS season, one last game with the USMNT is something he absolutely deserved.

With all that Donovan has contributed to U.S. soccer, this appearance is something that Donovan as well as the fans wanted to see. It is common for teams to give players send-off games, but given the controversial circumstance in which Donovan was left off the USMNT’s World Cup squad, many people felt that would spell the end of his U.S. soccer career.

Luckily for U.S. soccer fans around the country, they all have one more chance to watch and enjoy one of the best players in the history of American soccer in an international game. It might not be the World Cup, but it’s better than no send-off at all.