Landon Donovan was moments from reliving his worst football heartache, a first-round World Cup exit, when he scored the most important goal of his life to send the United States into the knockout rounds.
The 28-year-old midfielder has battled divorce, unconvincing stints in Europe and first-round disappointment at the 2006 World Cup but netted the defining goal of his career in stoppage time on Wednesday to snatch a 1-0 victory over Algeria.
“I have been through a lot in the last four years,” Donovan said, breaking into tears. “I’m so glad it culminated in this way. It makes me believe in the good in this world. When you try to do things the right way it’s nice to get rewarded.”
“The guys in the back did an unbelievable job of stopping counter after counter to give us a chance so we could get it,” Donovan said.
“A lot of us broke. I wanted to make a good touch forward. I chose Jozy and Clint (Dempsey) did a good job to get in front of the goalie and it just bounced there.
“Time kind of stopped. You can’t miss from there.”
“Sometimes in soccer you have games like that where you get a lot of chances and they don’t go in. The only thing you can control is if you keep playing,” said Donovan.