So you're saying the US national team has a chance, huh? They do as long as they've got Landon Donovan, apparently.
The above statistic, which has been making its way around the Internet since Thursday morning, illustrates how Donovan stacks up against world superstars Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in World Cup play.
For the sake of comparison, Rooney, Ronaldo, Messi and Ibrahimovic have played in two World Cups each, with 31 total appearances between them. Donovan has only three World Cups to his name, all by himself.
More from The Sideline
- VIDEO: Maurice Edu wins "Flappy Bird" bet, smacks KICKTV staffer
- VIDEO: "All For One" - deep inside TFC's signings of Defoe, Bradley
- VIDEO: "Next Goal Wins" is the story of Thomas Rongen's American Samoa
Of Donovan's five World Cup goals, only one — an 83rd-minute consolation goal in a 3-1 group stage loss to Poland in 2002 — can be considered a garbage-time stat padder. His two remaining group stage goals came in 2010 during the second-half comeback against Slovenia and the stoppage-time win against Algeria.
Furthermore, Donovan's two Round of 16 goals — against Mexico in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 — are also two more than the four players have scored in the World Cup Round of 16 or later, combined. That is a nice way of saying, zero.
But let us not get carried away and forget to remember this one inarguable fact imparted upon us: Donovan "isn't good enough because he couldn't do it in Europe."
Facts: dispelling contrived agendas since the beginning of maths.
