Landon Donovan names 3 USMNT players who should lose spot in Knockout Rounds

With the United States men’s national team taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina in a Round of 32 matchup on Wednesday in a do-or-die game, the squad is coming off a disappointing group stage loss to Turkiye last Friday, 3-2. Though the USMNT comes into the Bosnia and Herzegovina Round of 32 matchup with a loss in the final group stage game against Turkiye, it was a virtually meaningless game, though Landon Donovan took a lot away from it.

While the USMNT didn’t need to win the game, already winning Group D after the first two impressive wins over Paraguay and Australia, and head coach Mauricio Pochettino sent out nine new starters, it was an opportunity for other players to show out.

Landon Donovan on the USMNT players who disappointed

The former USMNT player, Donovan, would say the three most disappointing performances in the loss to Turkiye came from Giovanni Reyna, Ricardo Pepi, and especially Timothy Weah, who said he played “awful.” Donovan went as far as to say that some of the players “played their way out of the rotation.”

“To be honest, the guys who I was expecting more out of, if I’m being honest,” Donovan said, via Unfiltered Soccer. “I thought Gio would have more of an impact. He was just sort of there. Pepi was pretty disappointing, you know, in a tough game. Tim Weah was awful. It was just bizarre. I don’t know if he’s lost his confidence or whatever, but those were three guys I thought, ‘Okay, when you get in the next round, if you need a goal, those guys are going to come on the field?'”

“Certainly not Weah now,” Donovan continued. “Gio, maybe there’s something there. Pepi, you could see maybe against Bosnia, because you need to add another player with flow, another goal scorer, whatever. Some of those guys just played their way out of the rotation.”

Did Reyna, Pepi or Weah lose their spots in the rotation after their performances against Türkiye? pic.twitter.com/Yrq7pcuyT6

— Unfiltered Soccer (@UnfilteredSoccr) June 27, 2026

It remains to be seen what the usage looks like for Reyna, Pepi, or Weah on Wednesday as the USMNT looks to keep their World Cup chances alive against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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