As the countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup enters its final days, few people understand the tournament’s impact quite like Landon Donovan.
The American soccer icon, broadcaster, and former U.S. Men’s National Team star knows firsthand how one World Cup moment can change a life — both for the players on the pitch and the fans watching from the stands.
On Tuesday (June 9), Donovan traded goals for chicken fingers as he worked a celebrity “shift” at Raising Cane’s new Inglewood Flagship Restaurant, located just steps from SoFi Stadium, where the U.S. Men’s National Team will kick off its World Cup journey against Paraguay on Friday, June 12 at 6 p.m. PT.
While serving fans, signing autographs, and helping celebrate the opening of the highly anticipated restaurant, Donovan also took time to reflect on what this summer’s tournament could mean for the future of soccer in America.
Speaking with Celeb Secrets and other media during a press conference, Donovan recalled attending his first World Cup match as a teenager during the 1994 tournament in the United States — a moment that forever changed the course of his life.
“So in ’94, I went to my first World Cup game, and I didn’t know about soccer at all outside of just playing out in the park,” Donovan shared. “I went to Argentina against Romania at the Rose Bowl, and for the first time in my life, my eyes were opened to this bigger world that I didn’t know existed.”
That experience eventually helped launch one of the most decorated careers in American soccer history. Now, with the world’s biggest sporting event returning to U.S. soil for the first time in more than three decades, Donovan believes millions of young fans could experience that same spark.
“There will be millions of girls and boys who watch this summer and go, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know that was possible. I want to be that. I want to be Weston McKennie. I want to be Christian Pulisic,'” he told reporters. “So that’s what a World Cup provides.”
And if the tournament can inspire future generations from halfway around the world, Donovan believes the impact will be even greater with matches being played in American stadiums.
“It provides that when it’s halfway around the world,” he continued. “Imagine what it’s going to provide at home.”
It’s a perspective Donovan has earned through experience. The former LA Galaxy star remains one of the most influential figures in U.S. soccer history, helping elevate the sport’s popularity through iconic performances on the international stage — most notably his unforgettable stoppage-time goal against Algeria during the 2010 World Cup.
Today, Donovan’s role in the game has evolved. As a broadcaster and analyst, he’ll once again be at the center of the action, this time behind the microphone rather than on the field. Yet despite the career shift, he admits the emotions feel surprisingly familiar.
“The players will be feeling nervous, but also excited,” Donovan said. “And I’m the same way — nervous, excited and optimistic.”
For Donovan, the significance of this tournament extends far beyond wins and losses.
“I care deeply, deeply, deeply about the sport here,” he explained. “I’ve been a part of almost every part of this game in some way. I want to see this thing grow, and this opportunity is bigger than anything that’s ever been presented to us.”
He added that while the 1994 World Cup played a major role in helping introduce soccer to American audiences, the scale of 2026 is on another level.
“’94 was huge,” Donovan said. “This is exponentially bigger.”
That excitement was evident throughout Tuesday’s event as Donovan helped launch Raising Cane’s national “Kick It With Cane’s” campaign while celebrating the restaurant brand’s newest flagship location in Hollywood Park. The multi-level destination restaurant, which opens very soon, features immersive digital displays, custom artwork, interactive experiences, and sweeping views of one of the country’s fastest-growing sports and entertainment districts.
For Donovan, who spent years playing professionally in Southern California, seeing the transformation of Inglewood has been particularly meaningful.
“Driving up here and seeing Raising Cane’s and Hollywood Park and SoFi was crazy,” he said. “It’s all here.”
As Los Angeles prepares to welcome fans from around the globe, Donovan believes the city’s diversity will make for an unforgettable World Cup atmosphere.
“Any country in this tournament that is here will have people from that country who already live here,” he explained. “The stadiums will represent that and feel that.”
And while he’ll spend the coming weeks analyzing matches and calling games for viewers around the world, Donovan is looking forward to experiencing the tournament through a different lens.
“I also get to just be a fan,” he said with a smile.
If his prediction is correct, millions of Americans may soon find themselves becoming fans, too. And just like a young Landon Donovan sitting inside the Rose Bowl in 1994, many of them may discover that one World Cup is all it takes to change everything.
But while the world prepares for his analysis from the commentary booth, Donovan’s most surprising career chapter actually came entirely off the field. For someone who has spent decades collecting titles — player, captain, World Cup star, broadcaster, analyst, and ambassador — he admits the role that surprised him most wasn’t one that came with a jersey at all.
“It’s actually the same,” he told Celeb Secrets when asked which role both surprised him and shaped him the most. “It was coaching the San Diego Wave women’s team.”
The answer may catch some fans off guard. Donovan’s legacy has largely been defined by what he accomplished on the pitch, from becoming one of the most recognizable faces in U.S. soccer history to helping inspire a generation of American players through his performances on the world’s biggest stage.
But according to Donovan, stepping into a leadership role on the sidelines offered a completely different kind of education.
“I learned a lot about myself doing it,” he shared exclusively with us.
More notably, Donovan revealed that his experience coaching women fundamentally changed some of his perspectives on leadership and communication.
“The surprising part was I much, much, much, much prefer coaching women to men,” he said with a laugh.
According to Donovan, the difference came down to engagement and curiosity.
“They were more engaged. They, at least outwardly, cared more. They wanted more information. The guys, after like eight minutes in a meeting are like, ‘Da, da, da, da, da,'” he explained to Celeb Secrets. “I see it with my boys, too, versus my girl.”
For a player who has experienced virtually every level of soccer imaginable, the revelation speaks volumes. Donovan has spent much of his career studying the game from every angle — first as a player, then as a leader, and now as one of the sport’s most visible analysts. Yet it was coaching women that challenged him in ways he didn’t expect and ultimately helped him grow.
“They really cared,” he said. “And it was really fun to experience that part of the game.”
As American soccer enters what many believe could be its most important summer yet, Donovan continues to wear multiple hats across the sport. But if his comments are any indication, some of the most meaningful lessons of his career didn’t come from scoring goals in front of packed stadiums. They came from learning how to lead others — and discovering something new about himself in the process.
For more on Raising Cane’s, click here.
