Landon Donovan Is Looking Forward to Calling the World Cup for This Reason — And It Has Nothing to Do with the Game (Exclusive)
"It's really exhilarating to be in the booth," Donovan tells PEOPLE ahead of the 2026 World Cup
Landon Donovan on Dec. 5, 2025 in Washington, D. C.
Credit: Tasos Katopodis - FIFA/FIFA via Getty NEED TO KNOW Landon Donovan reveals why he's most looking forward to calling the World Cup this summer The former USMNT star tells PEOPLE, "A part of me is jealous that I won't get to just watch the games" Donovan also reveals his mom's sweet connection to his NESCAFÉ partnership Landon Donovan is getting pumped up for the World Cup. The retired soccer star, 44, will be calling a men's World Cup game for the first time on home soil this summer, an opportunity he tells PEOPLE is "going to be really special. " "It's really exhilarating to be in the booth," says Donovan, speaking on behalf of his partnership with NESCAFÉ, before quipping: "If I'm being honest, a part of me is jealous that I won't get to just watch the games.
" Donovan, a competitor in three World Cups before his retirement in 2014, says he's "proud to be representing all of the soccer community and the respective fan bases" when he joins veteran broadcaster Ian Darke in the booth this summer. "When you get to watch people proud to watch their country compete, it's really special," says the father of three. Landon Donovan on Oct.
3, 2021 in Carson, California Credit: Shaun Clark/Getty Still, the thing he's looking forward to most at the World Cup this year is getting to experience it all with his family. "My wife and my middle child, my middle son, will go to two games on their own," Donovan tells PEOPLE. "My other two kids are going to summer camp, and then they will all be coming to the first U.