U.S. Soccer Gold Cup Dominated By Landon Donovan [VIDEO]: Final Appearance Sunday Vs. Panama Thanks To Two More Goals And Assist, Watch His Dominance
U.S. Soccer Gold Cup semifinal victory Wednesday over Honduras puts the team in the finals on Sunday in Chicago for this CONCACAF tournament against Panama thanks to Landon Donovan's two more goals and an assist.
The 3-1 victory allows for a U.S. Soccer Gold Cup final appearance as the team looks for its fifth title. The story of the game might have been the continued resurgence of Landon Donovan. He has scored five goals and has seven assist throughout this tournament, which marked his return to the squad after a self-imposed sabbatical in which he missed a handful of World Cup qualifying matches.
Landon Donovan was left off the roster in June even though he was playing full-time again since March. He admitted that he had to prove himself when given the opportunity to come back and that came during the U.S. Soccer Gold Cup-run. The U.S. all-time leader in goals has done just that, according to head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
''I have told him in our conversations that 'I measure you. Your benchmark is the best Landon Donovan ever,' '' Klinsmann told the Boston Globe. ''I'm not taking anything less than that.''
Klinsmann has declined to comment on whether Donovan will land a spot on the World Cup roster for the U.S., which leads its qualifying pool.
"It's the most relaxed I've felt,'' Donovan said. ''I feel good, and I'm really enjoying it.''
Donovan led Eddie Johnson to the first goal of the match against Honduras during the 11th minute. During the 27th minute, Donovan scored the second goal of the game for the U.S. Honduras scored one in the second-half, but Donovan scored a minute later to put the game out of reach, thus becoming the U.S. team-record 10th straight victory.
Finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup will be Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
