Landon Donovan Backs Christian Pulisic To Define Legacy At Home World Cup As Kylian Mbappé Pressure Claim Stirs Debate

Landon Donovan knows how much you can define your legacy in the World Cup.

Arguably the greatest American soccer player of all time, Donovan ended his career as the program leader in goals (57) and represented the United States in international play from 2000 until 2014. 

He also led Team USA to its deepest run in the modern era to the quarterfinals during their 2002 World Cup run.

Fast forward nearly a quarter century later, and Team USA has higher expectations than ever before in the modern era. 

Led by an experienced squad featuring the likes of Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams, the expectations are further heightened by the fact that the United States are a host country for the first time since 1994.

This is obviously an opportunity for Team USA to not only showcase the sport, as they did in 1994, which led to the creation of the MLS, but also for a player like Pulisic to cement his legacy. 

The 27-year-old is regarded as the best American soccer player in the game today and could one day surpass Donovan as the best from the United States.

"It's almost everything," said Donovan when asked about Pulisic's legacy being on the line. 

"You can't shy away from that. You're playing a World Cup at home, and you're the best player. The one thing I don't worry about with Christian, sometimes I have seen in his face a little bit of feeling the pressure, but right now I don't see any of that. If there was ever a day he was going to feel pressure, I thought it would be against Senegal, and the way he played showed me that he is absolutely ready." 

"The scoring drought, or whatever, it didn't matter," Donovan continued. 

"He had pushed past it, and he was ready to go, and I am really excited for him now this summer. You can play well, but getting that goal changed everything for him. His confidence now is going to be through the roof, and I'm really excited for him."

His Relationship with Pulisic

Pulisic obviously ended his long goalless drought, he hadn't converted a goal since December of 2025 in international or club competition, against Senegal by notching an early goal. 

He also contributed an assist in the 3-2 win.

The performance was a big one for Pulisic, who had been struggling as of late with performance and injuries, as he was sidelined for a late-season game with AC Milan. 

Pulisic has previously mentioned Donovan as a big influence earlier in his career. Donovan said he hasn't had a chance to really talk to the younger American star as of late, with him preparing for the World Cup.

"I haven't spoken to him recently, but we have communicated over the years," said Donovan. 

"He's in a unique situation that only a few of us in this country can understand. My hope, and I saw it against Senegal, was that there's a fine line between feeling excitement for the World Cup and feeling pressure. Sometimes that line is very similar. What I saw is that he's excited, I didn't see fear or pressure in his eyes, and so that would be my advice, would be just go play like he is." 

"He is by far our best player," Donovan continued. 

"He will be the first or second best player in the group, in our group, and just go play like it. Just perform like that, because he has all the ability in the world to be really special, and I'm really excited for him."  

Kylian Mbappe Has Most Pressure Entering 2026 World Cup

While Pulisic obviously has the most pressure of any Team USA player, Donovan has a different answer when it comes to who has the most pressure overall, leading in the World Cup. 

He said that Kylian Mbappe, who will represent France as captain, one of the World Cup favorites, for the third time, has the most pressure on him.

Mbappé has also faced criticism from former France World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf, who labelled him “selfish” and questioned whether he should have been appointed captain, arguing he wasn’t the right choice to lead the national team.

Mbappe is regarded as one of the best, if not the best, players in the world, and France will be looking to avenge their runner-up loss to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup. 

The 27-year-old Mbappe previously won a World Cup as a young player in his first appearance in the 2018 World Cup.

"You can make the argument Mbappe is the best player in the world, and he's now in his prime," said Donovan. 

"He's had a little bit of a rough patch now, so is he going to show up and be the guy or not?"

Leading into the World Cup, Donovan will be partnering with FanDuel for the first time as they release new features to their customers, including "Super Sub" and "120 Minute Markets." 

As part of the new features rollout, Donovan is also starring in a FanDuel commercial that will be seen leading into and during World Cup play.

"It's my first time (with FanDuel)," said Donovan. 

"But I've had teammates, people in other sports who have been a part of them, and they speak very highly about the company. A lot of companies throw the sort of responsible gambling tag on as a sort of throwaway, and they actually don't take it seriously. They (FanDuel) care, and so it's meant to be entertainment, but it's good people in a good company, so I'm happy to be a part of it."