COLUMBUS, Ohio — Landon Donovan is caught between two continents.
As the U.S. meets Mexico tonight to open the final round of regional World Cup qualifying, Donovan is waiting to hear whether Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy will let him stay with Bayern Munich beyond the scheduled end of his loan March 8.
“Let’s talk about Mexico today,” Donovan said twice Tuesday night when asked pointed questions about his future.
Donovan arrived in Columbus on Monday night after entering in the 72nd minute of Bayern’s 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Sunday night. No fan of travel, he said his time with Bayern had prepared him for the showdown with Mexico, the first of 10 matches for the U.S. team in the final round.
“I’ve always been ready for this game. I’m excited for it (tonight),” he said. “In the future I’ll always be excited for it no matter where I am. So it doesn’t really change anything, except that I traveled a little further to get here.”
Six teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean are competing for three spots in the 2010 World Cup, and the fourth-place team advances to a playoff against the No. 5 team from South America.
Most regulars came in for the match. The exception was right back Steve Cherundolo, sidelined the past month by a hip injury.
The two sides have met 54 times since 1934, with Mexico winning 29 and the U.S. 14. But since 1999 the U.S. has won nine of 13 meetings — including the two previous World Cup qualifiers at Crew Stadium, by 2-0 counts in 2001 and 2005.
Mexico hasn’t beaten the United States on U.S. soil since 1999.
