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Nearly a decade after being left off the 2014 World Cup roster, retired U.S. men's national team star Landon Donovan still has strong opinions on Jurgen Klinsmann's selection of several dual nationals for the team.

Donovan made the comments during the second part of his wide-ranging interview on Kickin' It, which aired Tuesday on CBS Sports Golazo Network.

The ex-player said he was surprised when the then-head coach told him he would not be on the plane to Brazil and though he respected Klinsmann's decision, he revealed his parting shots in that conversation nine years earlier.

"I'll never forget it," he said on Kickin' It. "I said, 'There are guys in here, in that locker room who you're going to take to the World Cup who will play three or four or five games, will never play for the U.S. again, who will rarely step in the United States again and don't give a f--- what happens to U.S. Soccer after this tournament.'"

Donovan insisted that having a certain connection to the country a player represents was important at the international level, though did not specify how one could define that.

"If you're going to play for your national team, there's a different level of pride that I believe you have to have in order to bring out everything that you can possibly bring out in a national team game," he said. "I believe that with all my heart. … You can still perform without caring to that level, but I think there's something more where you're willing to give when you care at that level, at the level I cared and many others did."

Klinsmann's World Cup roster included 13 players who were eligible to represent other nations at one point. Donovan said not all of those players were the subject of his ire, and notably said Jermaine Jones was a teammate he had no issues with. He did not, though, name those he was criticizing.

"You could tell he cared," he said about Jones. "When he was in, he cared and it wasn't about him, it was about the country. It wasn't about playing in a World Cup or playing for your national team. I felt that way, at least. … He integrated himself. It's like any player that comes to a club team, too. If you don't integrate yourself and make yourself part of the team, then it's just about you."

Donovan also cited himself as an example that one could follow -- he is half-Canadian and was eligible to represent that national team before choosing the USMNT.

"I am extremely proud of my Canadian roots, extremely," he said. "I've known the national anthem ever since I was eight years old. I watched hockey games with my dad growing up, been to Canada countless times. I'm very proud, but I identify as an American. I feel American. I would've felt fraudulent playing for Canada, even though I'm extremely proud of my Canadian roots. I would've felt like I'm not really Canadian in the same way."

Kickin' It is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. 

'I would want them to feel welcome'

Kickin' It co-host and Donovan's ex-USMNT colleague Maurice Edu brought a unique perspective as an American of Nigerian descent, but also as a father to children who could not just represent those teams one day, but also Mexico through their mother. He addressed the idea of team culture created by the veteran players, and hoped his children would receive a warm reception regardless of whichever national team they chose, should they become professional athletes.

"I would want them to feel welcome in any direction, to all three of those countries," Edu said. "I want them to play for the U.S. but if my child were to say, 'I want to play for Nigeria' or 'I want to play for Mexico,' I would want them to go to that national team and feel welcome and feel like doors are open."

Donovan retorted by leaning on the argument that some dual nationals chose the U.S. because they were not good enough to represent the other country they were eligible to play for. He then made the concession that his alignment with the USMNT is circumstantial -- he admitted he would feel "fraudulent" representing Canada but would make the same decision as those he criticized if he was in the same boat.

"That's why I'm saying it's a good question because if I wasn't good enough and Canada offered me [a chance], being honest, I probably would've said yes," Donovan admitted.

When asked by host Kate Abdo if he recognized that his comments would offend a portion of his audience, Donovan said he did. He also admitted that other people's opinions did not bother him in this case.

"I can only tell you what I feel," Donovan said. "There's no data to prove what I'm saying is right. I just know that, one, I cared a lot more about the national team and what happened to it at the time than some people, no doubt about that. Two, I didn't feel -- and I think it's come to fruition -- that they in any way were hurt by, devastated, disappointed in the same way that most were … when we lost or when it was over, that it was over.

"That was my point to Jurgen, is that you're going to have someone in who will f---ing die for the country in the team, literally. That's how I felt, and then you're going to have some people who are just like, 'Oh it's a few games in a World Cup, it'll help my career and then I'm going to move on.' That's the way I felt. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know."