Landon Donovan takes his place on the cover of North American FIFA 11.  He joins Mexican International Carlos Vela (of Arsenal) and of course Kaka.

Landon Donovan’s a sensation in the US national side putting them into the second round of this year’s World Cup for the third time in their history with a dramatic extra time winner against Algeria in their final group game. So it’s no wonder the sensational L.A. Galaxy midfielder will front the US FIFA Soccer 11 cover and form part of EA SPORTS’ marketing campaign in the United States.

Donovan’s no stranger to English soccer (*ahem* football) either with regular stints on loan with his USA team-mate Tim Howard at Premiership side Everton. Maybe his trans-Atlantic fame and wider audience recognition appealed to EA and their marketing team.

Although professional soccer in the USA started back in the 1960’s the MLS came to fruition in 1996 and had a pretty slow start. There wasn’t a great deal of interest and teams didn’t fare well financially.

Fortunately soccer in America has boomed recently and the MLS is attracting more and more top name players every season. With more money being pumped into the U.S. tier one division and ever growing viewership figures expect the MLS and the USA national teams to be a force to reckon with in the years to come.

Over 1.1 million viewers watched the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup final between USA and Mexico. Although USA lost it hasn’t dampened the nations love for football and EA will obviously see the huge potential it has for the future of the FIFA series.

Do you think Landon’s up to the job as an EA SPORTS US ambassador for FIFA 11 or can you think of any other American soccer players that are more suited to the job of FIFA 11 cover star?