With the biggest soccer tournament in the world approaching us, nations across the globe will be picking and choosing their final rosters. The American soccer team posted its final World Cup roster on their webpage Thursday, and it came with a huge surprise to many soccer fans:

Landon Donovan was not included.

Donovan is one the best soccer players in American history, and he has played in the last three World Cups. In those three World Cup Games, (in Spain, Italy, Brazil) Donovan scored five goals. He was a standout in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals when he scored three goals, easily leading the team. Donovan also has the most goals for any U.S. national player. Donovan has also contributed much of his time to the Los Angeles Galaxy and has participated in Gold Cups before with excellent play. So this comes as a big surprise.

The obvious explanation by most people is that, Donovan is getting older and his best years are behind him.

Not including Donovan will be detrimental to America, not the rest of the world. Obviously Donovan does not have the speed he once possessed, but the striking power and passing is still there. The biggest asset that Donovan possesses is his leadership. Having played in the last three World Cups, he knows exactly what to expect and when. He could have helped and taught younger players. Now I'm not going to act like America would have won this year's World Cup over power house nations such as Brazil, Italy, and Spain, but Donavan certainly would have helped.

It's going to be up to goaltender Tim Howard to step up as the team leader.

In a poll conducted by the Washington Post, more than 70% of the voters felt that coach Klinsmann made a mistake by not including Donovan. There have been rumors that the two clashed had some trust issues going back to 2009 when Donovan played for the Bayern Munich German team under Klinsmann.

Donovan is 32 years old, and the next World Cup isn't until 2018, when he will be 36. It comes a sad moment because this would have been Donovan's last World Cup. Another surprise is the final cut originally wasn't supposed to be release until June 2, which is the deadline for all countries to submit a final roster. It appears as if Coach Klinsmann decided to go young as he chose seven players that are 24 or younger and have little experience.

Even if Donovan was not the superstar soccer player he once was, he deserved the right to make the team. His past contributions to the and this country warrant at least one more World Cup appearance for the 32 year old. It will be interesting to see how team America does without Donovan ina World Cup for the first time since 1998.

Donovan has since responded to getting cut from the team and issued a statement on Facebook Thursday night"

To my fans,

It has been an honor and privilege to have represented the US National Team in three World Cups. I was looking forward to playing in Brazil and, as you can imagine, I am very disappointed with today's decision. Regardless, I will be cheering on my friends and teammates this summer, and I remain committed to helping grow soccer in the US in the years to come.

Thanks for all your support,

Landon

What do you think? Do believe coach Klinsmann made the correct decision? Or do think he made a critical mistake? Feel free to comment below.

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