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World Cup 2010: Landon Donovan - "The Finality Of It Is Brutal" For USA
Jun 26, 2010 6:57:00 PM
By Zac Lee Rigg, with reporting by Noah Davis
That's it. That's all she wrote.
No more comebacks. No more Landon Donovan penalties. No more chances. The World Cup dream is over for the United States.
That's something vice captain Donovan pondered and struggled to come to grips with following a thrilling -- but ultimately devastating -- 2-1 loss to Ghana in extra time.
"The finality of it is brutal," Donovan told reporters following the match. "You realize how much you put into it, not only the last four years but your whole life. There's no guarantee there's another opportunity at that. It's disappointing."
In the end, two defensive lapses and some poor finishing cost the USA a place in the quarterfinals. For the Los Angeles Galaxy star, acknowledging that without having a chance to learn from and right the team's mistakes is proving cruel.
"The way we went out is frustrating because we played a pretty good game, just made a couple mistakes and got punished for it," Donovan said. "It's a tough lesson to learn when you don't get a chance to redeem yourself."
The Americans conceded within the first 15 minutes for the third time in this World Cup. Instead of capitalizing on the forgiving nature of group stages to protect against that, the USA made the same mistake in the knockout rounds.
“I guess the warning signs were there, getting scored on early. It came back to bite us,” Donovan said.
After the devastation of the exit lessens and the mistakes forgotten, Donovan will be left to recall his own performances. When asked about that, the 28-year-old responded in the cold detachment of an athlete who analyzes his own contributions frankly and ruthlessly: "I'm proud of how I played."
Visit the U.S. national team page on Goal.com for more and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
No more comebacks. No more Landon Donovan penalties. No more chances. The World Cup dream is over for the United States.
That's something vice captain Donovan pondered and struggled to come to grips with following a thrilling -- but ultimately devastating -- 2-1 loss to Ghana in extra time.
"The finality of it is brutal," Donovan told reporters following the match. "You realize how much you put into it, not only the last four years but your whole life. There's no guarantee there's another opportunity at that. It's disappointing."
In the end, two defensive lapses and some poor finishing cost the USA a place in the quarterfinals. For the Los Angeles Galaxy star, acknowledging that without having a chance to learn from and right the team's mistakes is proving cruel.
"The way we went out is frustrating because we played a pretty good game, just made a couple mistakes and got punished for it," Donovan said. "It's a tough lesson to learn when you don't get a chance to redeem yourself."
The Americans conceded within the first 15 minutes for the third time in this World Cup. Instead of capitalizing on the forgiving nature of group stages to protect against that, the USA made the same mistake in the knockout rounds.
“I guess the warning signs were there, getting scored on early. It came back to bite us,” Donovan said.
After the devastation of the exit lessens and the mistakes forgotten, Donovan will be left to recall his own performances. When asked about that, the 28-year-old responded in the cold detachment of an athlete who analyzes his own contributions frankly and ruthlessly: "I'm proud of how I played."
Visit the U.S. national team page on Goal.com for more and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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