US Women's World Cup team would beat the MEN says Landon Donovan

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EXCLUSIVE: America's World Cup soccer winning women would beat the MEN - says a man! Landon Donovan calls for ultimate play-off and Alex Morgan says: 'Bring it on.'
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Soccer hero tells Daily Mail Online there should be a women-men match
Donovan predicts victory for the women but a tough match
Alex Morgan and Ali Krieger back idea of challenge and say they'd win

By Ryan Parry West Coast Correspondent For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:44 EST, 17 July 2015 | Updated: 17:16 EST, 17 July 2015

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It's a question that will send sports fans into a spin: who would win in a competitive match between the men's and women's national soccer teams?

But US soccer hero Landon Donovan already knows the answer: the women.

Donovan - one of the best players America has produced in men's soccer – believes the World Cup winning women's national side could beat their male counterparts, but not without a fight.

And to ramp up the confrontation we asked two of the women's national team what they thought and they agreed: the nation's World Cup-winning women are better than the men.

Donovan told Daily Mail Online in an exclusive interview: 'I think it's safe to say the women are on top of the world right now, they would beat the men quite handily - but not without a fight.

'I was fortunate to be at the final and be able to see them win, and having gotten to know a few of them over the years, I was really happy for them.

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EXC: Landon Donovan: WWC champs 'would beat the men'

Winners: America's women lift the World Cup in Vancouver las tmonth. Now, says Landon Donovan, they would beat the men's team at the sport

Winners: Alex Morgan (left) and Ali Krieger (right) at the ESPY awards. They both said the men would be defeated by the women if the two teams went head to head

Challenge: Landon Donovan, the US's most prolific goal scorer, says he believes the women are now better than the men at the sport

'I was actually speaking to somebody about this the other day. The amount of improvement that has happened, not just with the U.S. soccer team but across the board, in women's soccer, has been really dramatic.

'And when we used to watch in the late 90s and early 2000s, juxtapose that with the way it looks today, and that goes for the men's soccer in the U.S. as well, how much it has improved, is impressive.'

US national team poster girl Alex Morgan agrees with Donovan saying the women could hold their own, while star player Ali Krieger reckons that the girls would pip the boys 2-1 - and the key to their success would be the defense.

Landon's comments - given as he was a star presenter at the Gatorade Athlete Of The Year Awards in Los Angeles - are sure to cause a storm in the world of football - and especially with men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Klinsmann omitted Landon, 33, the most capped and highest scoring US player of all time, from the 2014 World Cup Squad.

The US lacked a goal scorer and poacher in the tournament in Brazil, but the German boss insisted that he was right to leave Landon at home.

The former LA Galaxy star disagreed. Now the retired ace's feelings that the women's team are better than Klinsmann's side will surely reignite tension between the men.

Landon says that the women are better finishers than their male counterparts.

He added: 'Some of the goals that were scored in the final, and there was a lot of good goals scored throughout the tournament, but the goals scored in the final are goals that a lot of top men couldn't score, and don't score.

'Obviously, there's some that do, but they were really great world class goals, and it was really impressive to watch.'

Asked if he could ever see a mixed team representing the U.S., he replied: 'It would be amazing. It would be interesting to see if that could happen. Perhaps FIFA's open to ideas these days.'

A couple of hours later female stars Krieger and Morgan reacted to Landon's comments as they walked the red carpet at the ESPY's Body Issue Party.

Krieger said: 'I think we would win... one nothing, two nothing,.. it would be close. Maybe 2 - 1. We would give them one.

'I am not sure they would get past the brick wall. We would give them a really good competition - thank you Landon.

'I have so much respect for him, so I appreciate he thinks that.'

Would they? America's men took on Panama this week in Kansas City, Kansas, and it was a draw. Now Landon Donovan says they should face the women - and predicts they would lose

Winners: Alex Morgan (second from left) predicted another victory for the women if they played the men

Defender Krieger, 30, agreed that the women's team and especially center forward Carli Lloyd's ability gives them an advantage.

'Whenever we get our chances we try to put them at least on target and put them in the net, and that is something we have worked on for four years, and ironed out those details.

'And we really do have good goal scorers and I think Carli Lloyd took the gig that day and finished every chance she had.'

Body Issue cover girl and striker Morgan, 26, added: 'It would be a good competition.'

Smiling, Morgan added that without Landon in the line-up they stand a better chance: 'I am gonna say thank goodness Landon has retired because I might not have said that a year and a half a go.

'We know a lot of the guys and we have fun with them and they are a great group of guys and we would hold our own.'

Landon spoke exclusively at the 30th high school athlete Gatorade Player of the Year awards in LA.

Krieger and Morgan joined many stars who attended the lavish party at Milk Studios in LA sponsored by Cadillac, Capital One, Axe, Gatorade, Grey Goose, Miller Lite, and Nautica.

Last year Landon and Klinsmann endured a feud when he was dropped from the US squad for the Brazil tournament in May 2014.

It sparked a backlash from fans and big names in soccer. Eventually the team did better than expected losing in the quarter finals after a close encounter with Belgium after extra time.