Earlier today Soccer by Ives reported that United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has named Landon Donovan the captain for the tribute friendly being played on Friday. It's now being reported that Donovan is expected to play about half an hour before being subbed out for a curtain call.

Klinsmann confirmed that Landon Donovan is starting and will play about 30 minutes on Friday vs. Ecuador. #USMNT

— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) October 7, 2025

Our thoughts here about Donovan's appearance in this friendly have been well stated and knowing he's only going half an hour at least puts some of our fears in perspective. It's still not known how Omar Gonzalez well be used, but that's for a later column.

For now LA Galaxy fans can rest a little easier knowing the timbre of this friendly. Half an hour in what amounts to essentially a scrimmage won't do much harm. The cross-country trip will likely do more to affect his joints than any amount of running around he will do.