While all the talk leading up to this past weekend’s game was about Landon Donovan and his “lack of fire”, it looked to me like he still has a lot left to offer despite appearing at the top or near the top of many of the USMNT career records.  And on Saturday, he took over another record with his 125th career start, passing Jeff Agoos at 124.  Also of note, Carlos Bocanegra is now tied for sixth alongside Tony Meola with his 97th career start.  Here is a look at those names.

Landon Donovan also added three goals to his already USMNT record of career goals, which now stands at 49, 15 more than the next name on the list (Eric Wynalda).  He also now holds the record for most hat tricks in a career with three, which he previously shared with Peter Millar.  Here are the top five goal scorers in US Soccer history.

I wanted to take this a step further and see where Donovan stands among other top scorers for other countries.  After doing some research, which was sort of hard as various sites/federations have some differing numbers, I was able to determine in my best efforts that his 49 career goals is the third most among CONCACAF players all-time.

As for some other countries of note, Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton leads England with his 49 goals.  The US’ opponent on Wednesday, Brazil, is led by Pele and his 77 goals.  Donovan’s LA Galaxy teammate Robbie Keane leads Ireland with 53 goals.  And David Villa (Spain) and Thierry Henry (France) each lead their countries with 51  goals.

Hopefully Donovan has a few more starts and goals left in him for a few more years.

5 Responses to “Inside the Numbers: Landon Donovan’s USMNT Legacy”

1. William says:

   May 28, 2012 at 9:36 PM

   How many assists does he have?
2. Matt says:

   May 28, 2012 at 9:46 PM

   Looks like he now has 48 assists, which is the most all-time (Cobi Jones is next with 22).
3. jw says:

   May 29, 2012 at 11:45 AM

   Wow. Great write-up.

   Two questions?

   1) What does the caps list look like among active players beyond Landon and Carlos?

   2) About how many international games would you expect between now and WC 2014?

   Thanks. Love the site!
4. Matt says:

   May 29, 2012 at 12:12 PM

   JW, here is the current roster and where they stand with caps/goals -> http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/US-Men/Latest-Roster/120525-Travel-Roster.aspx

   I also think Beasley is up there (around 80 caps) as well for active guys not currently on the roster for this camp.
5. William says:

   May 29, 2012 at 7:56 PM

   phhht. So he will finish with 50% more goals than anyone else and twice as many assists…?