"We should be happy that he's gone." That's Landon Donovan — USMNT legend, not a troll account — on Matt Crocker's resignation as U.S. Soccer sporting director, less than two months before the United States co-hosts a World Cup.
Crocker is heading to Saudi Arabia. The move, confirmed by a source close to the decision speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, was first reported by Fox Sports. He's leaving one of the most consequential roles in American soccer history to join the Saudi football project — at the exact moment that role matters most.
Donovan doesn't sugarcoat it
Donovan's reaction landed like a verdict, not a hot take. "My initial thought is if he doesn't want to be here, we don't want him here," he said. "I always got the sense that he wasn't fully committed here and didn't really care about soccer in this country."
That's a pointed assessment. Donovan isn't some outside critic — he lived the frustration of American soccer underachieving for decades. When he says Crocker didn't care, that carries weight.
"I'm actually happy to get someone in that position who genuinely cares about the growth of soccer." Whether or not that's the right read on Crocker, the broader point stands: the USSF now has to find, hire, and embed a new sporting director in one of the most chaotic pre-tournament windows imaginable.
The timing is the problem
The 2026 World Cup kicks off on home soil in under two months. The USSF has spent years framing this tournament as a turning point for soccer's place in American culture. Sporting directors don't just set transfer policy — they shape squad philosophy, staff relationships, and tournament preparation. Losing that role now isn't a minor administrative shuffle.
Whether Crocker was genuinely disengaged or simply got a better offer, the optics are rough. And the USMNT's odds of deep tournament progression just became harder to calculate with a leadership vacuum at the top of their structure.
The USSF confirmed the departure in neutral corporate language. Donovan was considerably less diplomatic.
