The World Cup may not have ended the way the United States Men's National Team hoped, but the tournament transformed the conversation around soccer in America this summer. Nearly 7 million fans filled stadiums across North America, and the final between Spain and Argentina peaked at 52 million viewers, averaging around 38 million. Landon Donovan, who served as an analyst for FOX throughout the event, said this year's World Cup was an unforgettable experience that proved the sport has finally arrived in the United States.

«I'm sad it's over now. It really did go by so fast. Maybe for people at home, not so fast. But for us, it was just travel, game, work, game, travel, appearance, travel, meet-and-greet, travel, game. It was honestly the time of my life, and I'm sad it's over,» Donovan told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. He praised the tournament's superstars, the incredible fan bases, and the world-class infrastructure and stadiums across the country. «The fans filled the stadiums. It broke records in every way on TV and social. It was a phenomenal World Cup.»

The long-term impact on soccer's growth in the U.S. remains to be seen, but Donovan is optimistic, drawing parallels to the surge that followed the 1994 World Cup. That event helped lay the foundation for Major League Soccer, which launched two years later. With the MLS All-Star Game set for Wednesday in Charlotte, Donovan sees the sport riding a wave of momentum. He partnered with longtime MLS sponsor AT&T for the festivities, an arrangement he described as meaningful because the company is genuinely invested in the game. «They've been supporters of ours for a long time. Soccer, to most people, is relatively new, but I've been in this game for a long time. So when you have people and companies that want to support in a real way and not just throw money at it, but actually be involved, then it means a lot to us because we've been ambassadors for this game forever,» Donovan said. He noted that AT&T helps connect fans to the sport through his podcast with Tim Howard and through All-Star events, adding, «They love the sport. They genuinely do.»

Donovan also reflected on his own return to MLS after the 2002 World Cup, when he received a thunderous ovation. He recalled getting off a plane from Korea and heading straight to a stadium for a game that same day, playing just ten minutes but feeling the excitement of fans who had seen him on the world stage 24 hours earlier. That experience, he said, illustrates the powerful connection between international tournaments and domestic league enthusiasm. «At the end of these tournaments, there's so much energy and excitement around soccer and the sport, so you'll see an uptick in viewership. You'll see an uptick in the stadiums. People now know these guys' names, and it's a really, really awesome opportunity to grow as a player, but also to grow your brand,» he explained.

While a deeper USMNT run would have boosted the sport even further, Donovan is done speculating about when soccer will break through. He believes the moment has already arrived. «There has been study after study, they asked people to name their favorite sport. The NFL was one, the NBA was two and soccer was three — soccer in general, right? So people do love this sport in this country,» he said. He offered an anecdote from his daily life: «I drop my kids off at school every day. I don't see NFL jerseys. I don't see baseball jerseys. I see soccer jerseys. The kids are all wearing soccer jerseys. They're all in. So soccer is here.» He acknowledged that quantifying that popularity through MLS or U.S. Soccer metrics is harder, but insisted the sport is mainstream. «When you turned on the TV this summer, people were talking about soccer... So, it is here. It's not where we all want it to be yet, but that takes time, man. These other sports have had decades, if not centuries, of a head start on soccer. So we'll just keep going.»