Former United States Men's National Team star Landon Donovan declared that soccer has finally arrived in America after a historic World Cup summer that drew nearly 7 million fans to stadiums across North America and peaked at 52 million viewers for the final between Spain and Argentina. Donovan, who served as an analyst for Fox Sports during the tournament, said the event proved the sport's growing hold on the country.
«I'm sad it's over now. It really did go by so fast,» Donovan told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. «The superstars showed up and scored goals. The fan bases were incredible. The infrastructure and the stadiums, of course, are amazing in this country. The fans filled the stadiums. It broke records in every way on TV and social. It was a phenomenal World Cup, and I'm really just sad it's over.»
The World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, saw matches in major cities from coast to coast. The tournament finale averaged approximately 38 million viewers and peaked at 52 million, numbers that rival those of major American sports championships. Donovan noted that the energy surrounding the event reminded him of the boost soccer received after the 1994 World Cup, which helped launch Major League Soccer.
«I lived it, right? At the end of these tournaments, there's so much energy and excitement around soccer and the sport, so you'll see an uptick in viewership. You'll see an uptick in the stadiums. People now know these guys' names, and it's a really, really awesome opportunity to grow as a player, but also to grow your brand,» Donovan said. He recalled returning from the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and going straight to an MLS match, where the crowd gave him a standing ovation for playing just 10 minutes. «The excitement in the stadium for the fans to see someone who, 24 hours earlier, had been on a field in Korea was awesome.»
Donovan, who also partnered with longtime MLS sponsor AT&T for the league's All-Star Game festivities in Charlotte, said he is done debating whether soccer will ever take off in the United States. «Soccer is here,» he insisted. «There has been study after study, they asked people to name their favorite sport. The NFL was one, the NBA was two and soccer was three — soccer in general, right? So people do love this sport in this country.»
He pointed to everyday evidence of soccer's mainstream status. «I know anecdotally, I drop my kids off at school every day. I don't see NFL jerseys. I don't see baseball jerseys. I see soccer jerseys. The kids are all wearing soccer jerseys. They're all in,» Donovan said. «When you turned on the TV this summer, people were talking about soccer.»
Donovan acknowledged that Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer still face challenges in fully capitalizing on that enthusiasm. «Now, how you quantify it in a real way via Major League Soccer or U.S. Soccer, I don't know. That's harder to do,» he said. «But this sport is mainstream now. It's not where we all want it to be yet, but that takes time. These other sports have had decades, if not centuries, of a head start on soccer. So we'll just keep going.»
The All-Star Game in Charlotte comes just days after several USMNT players returned from the World Cup to rejoin their MLS clubs. Donovan noted that the timing gives fans a chance to see the national team stars up close. «These guys coming back into the league a week before the All-Star Game, and then a lot of them at the All-Star Game, it's a really awesome opportunity to be recognized and appreciated,» he said.
The 2024 World Cup shattered attendance and viewership records across the board. With the tournament set to return to North America in 2026 for a 48-team edition, soccer's footprint in the United States appears only likely to grow. Donovan's message is clear: the sport has already arrived.
