Landon Donovan’s Outlook on a U.S. World Cup Victory

Former USMNT forward Landon Donovan told CNN Sports that the United States “has a good enough team to make a deep run in the tournament, for sure.” He emphasized that the path to a title hinges on a round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by successive victories against “one of the big eight teams in the world.” Donovan believes the squad can sustain the emotional intensity required for such a streak.

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Donovan, the joint all-time leading scorer for the United States, appeared in three World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010) and scored five tournament goals. He helped the 2002 team reach the quarter-finals, the nation’s deepest run since his debut. In 2010 he netted a stoppage-time winner against Algeria that propelled the U.S. into the last 16. The 2006 campaign ended in a group-stage exit, a disappointment that contributed to Donovan’s later mental-health struggles, which he detailed in his memoir *Landon: A Memoir*.

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Donovan singled out AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic as the player most capable of “making a play basically out of nowhere.” He noted that Pulisic’s ability to draw defensive attention creates space for teammates, a quality Donovan described as “hard to find” in world soccer. Pulisic’s recent recovery from a calf injury positions him as a central figure in the U.S. attack.

CNN

Donovan stressed three factors that could tip the balance in the United States’ favor: (1) winning the immediate knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, (2) leveraging the home-crowd advantage—drawing a parallel to South Korea’s 2002 semifinal run—and (3) maintaining mental and physical health off the field, a lesson he learned after the 2006 criticism that “destroyed” him. He framed the team’s potential as contingent on both tactical execution and collective morale.

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Despite Donovan’s optimism, the United States has not progressed beyond the round of 16 since 2002. Skeptics point to the difficulty of defeating multiple top-tier opponents in succession, especially given the historical pattern of early exits. The reliance on a single star—Pulisic—also raises concerns about depth and adaptability against elite competition.

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• “We have a good enough team to make a deep run in the tournament, for sure.” — Landon Donovan, former USMNT forward

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• “Players like that in world soccer are not a dime a dozen, right?” — Landon Donovan

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• “We saw in 2002 with South Korea, we played Korea, the home country. They ended up getting to the semifinals. They weren’t expected to get to the semis, so if our crowd is behind us, I think everything’s possible,” — Landon Donovan

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• “I had a really poor 2006 World Cup and got criticized really harshly for the first time, it tore me up.” — Landon Donovan

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• “It was so dramatic. We had two minutes left after that to see out the game to advance to the next round, so essentially that goal put us through to the next round. We had to win. People were watching it, going through this emotional rollercoaster, and then finally, it was like a Hollywood movie, finally the goal happens in the end and there’s celebration and it was awesome,” — Landon Donovan

CNN

The United States faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on Wednesday. Donovan warned that a victory will set up a clash with a “big eight” nation in the quarter-finals, after which the team must rely on home-crowd support and sustained performance to keep the title dream alive.

CNN