Landon Donovan says soccer has arrived in America after record-breaking World Cup summer

The World Cup did not spell precisely however the United States Men's National Team expected, but the athletics was the speech of the state this summer.

Nearly 7 cardinal radical flooded stadiums successful North America to drawback World Cup action, and the last betwixt Spain and Argentina peaked astatine 52 cardinal viewers, averaging astatine astir 38 million.

Landon Donovan was an expert for FOX passim the lawsuit and said this year's World Cup was an unforgettable memory.

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Landon Donovan attends an AT&T lawsuit successful Charlotte up of the MLS All-Star Game. (AT&T)

"I'm bittersweet it's implicit now. It truly did spell by truthful fast. Maybe for radical astatine home, not truthful fast. But for us, it was conscionable travel, game, work, game, travel, appearance, travel, meet-and-greet, travel, game. It was honestly the clip of my life, and I'm bittersweet it's over," Donovan told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview.

"The superstars showed up and scored goals. The instrumentality bases were incredible. The infrastructure and the stadiums, of course, are astonishing successful this country. The fans filled the stadiums. It broke records successful each mode connected TV and social. It was a phenomenal World Cup, and I'm truly conscionable bittersweet it's over."

It remains to beryllium seen what benignant of maturation volition hap successful the U.S. aft the World Cup, but if it's thing similar what occurred successful 1994, the athletics is successful a bully spot – conscionable successful clip for Major League Soccer's All-Star Game successful Charlotte connected Wednesday.

Donovan partnered with longtime MLS sponsor AT&T for the festivities to bring fans person to the action.

"They've been supporters of ours for a agelong time. Soccer, to astir people, is comparatively new, but I've been successful this crippled for a agelong time. So erstwhile you person radical and companies that privation to enactment successful a existent mode and not conscionable propulsion wealth astatine it, but really beryllium involved, past it means a batch to america due to the fact that we've been ambassadors for this crippled forever," Donovan said. "They're helping america link radical to this crippled that we love, and that means a lot. They're large with our podcast with maine and Tim Howard. Great to maine personally, individually, each the All-Star Games. They emotion the sport. They genuinely do, and it's been truly bully to person them."

Landon Donovan celebrates scoring his team's 2nd extremity during the FIFA Confederations Cup Final betwixt USA and Brazil astatine the Ellis Park Stadium connected June 28, 2009, successful Johannesburg, South Africa. (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

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Donovan recalled the ovation helium got erstwhile helium returned to MLS aft the 2002 World Cup.

"I lived it, right? At the extremity of these tournaments, there's truthful overmuch vigor and excitement astir shot and the sport, truthful you'll spot an uptick successful viewership. You'll spot an uptick successful the stadiums. People present cognize these guys' names, and it's a really, truly awesome accidental to turn arsenic a player, but besides to turn your brand," helium said.

"When I came backmost successful 2002, I virtually got disconnected the level from Korea and went consecutive to the stadium astatine noon, possibly 2:00. We had a crippled that night, and I got to play for 10 minutes astatine the extremity of the game. The excitement successful the stadium for the fans to spot idiosyncratic who, 24 hours earlier, had been connected a tract successful Korea was awesome. So these guys coming backmost into the league a week earlier the All-Star Game, and past a batch of them astatine the All-Star Game, it's a truly awesome accidental to beryllium recognized and appreciated. It's truly cool."

While a deeper USMNT tally would person done wonders for the sport, Donovan, though, is done talking astir erstwhile shot volition get – due to the fact that helium thinks "soccer is here."

"There has been survey aft study, they asked radical to sanction their favourite sport. The NFL was one, the NBA was 2 and shot was 3 — shot successful general, right? So radical bash emotion this athletics successful this country," helium said. "I cognize anecdotally, I driblet my kids disconnected astatine schoolhouse each day. I don't spot NFL jerseys. I don't spot shot jerseys. I spot shot jerseys. The kids are each wearing shot jerseys. They're each in. So shot is here.

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan (26) successful enactment against Orlando City FC during the 2nd fractional astatine StubHub Center connected Sept. 11, 2016. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)

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"Now, however you quantify it successful a existent mode via Major League Soccer oregon U.S. Soccer, I don't know. That's harder to do. But this athletics is mainstream now. When you turned connected the TV this summer, radical were talking astir soccer... So, it is here. It's not wherever we each privation it to beryllium yet, but that takes time, man. These different sports person had decades, if not centuries, of a caput commencement connected soccer. So we'll conscionable support going."

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