Landon Donovan was left off the USA World Cup roster back in May and said that he briefly rooted against the team during a warmup game a few days after the decision was announced.
Now that the United States has been eliminated, Donovan has more to say. This time, however, some of his comments are directed straight at U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
“I think we’re all disappointed in what happened (Tuesday),” he told MLS.com on Wednesday. “I think the most disappointing is we didn’t seem like we gave it a real effort, from a tactical standpoint. I thought the guys did everything they could, they did everything that was asked of them, but I don’t think we were set up to succeed yesterday, and that was tough to watch.”
The U.S. lost 2-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16, and Donovan thinks he knows why.
“They were set up in a way that was opposite from what they’ve been the past couple years, which is opening up, passing, attacking — trying to do that,” Donovan said. “And the team’s been successful that way.”
The leading scorer in U.S. soccer history went on:
“Why they decided to switch that in the World Cup, none of us will know. From a playing standpoint, I think the guys will probably be disappointed in the way things went.”
Donovan also said that Michael Bradley was playing out of place and should have been deeper, with another attacker in front.
