Injury to Jozy Altidore Ultimately Doomed the USMNT at the World Cup

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 1, 2014

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The tremendous effort in goal from Tim Howard was there. The defenders in front of him put in the performance of their lives. But one thing was missing that ultimately cost the United States men's national team a spot in the quarterfinals at the 2014 World Cup. 

In the buildup to the round-of-16 clash against Belgium, the American camp teased the possibility of Jozy Altidore making an appearance against Belgium, but it was evident late in the match that was just a tease and nothing else. 



Altidore, who pulled up lame against Ghana in the first match for the Yanks in Brazil, was greatly missed up front in his role as a powerful forward, and because of his absence, the United States was not able to play the way it had been leading up to the tournament. 

It was clear from the minute Altidore exited the Ghana match the Americans needed a miraculous effort from Clint Dempsey up front, which in the end was too much of an ask for the captain. 

By having no direct replacement for the 24-year-old in the 23-man squad, manager Jurgen Klinsmann was left hoping that his captain could carry the load, but when it counted the most against Germany and Belgium, Dempsey couldn't create many chances by himself up front. 



The American attack finally found life late in the match when Chris Wondolowski entered in the 72nd minute, a move that let Dempsey drop back further in the midfield to gain possession and work with Michael Bradley.

By not having that extra forward in the lineup from the outset, the Yanks were once again met with an onslaught of shots from their opponent. 

Without Howard sprawling all over the place to make 16 saves, we wouldn't even be having a discussion about extra time and the terrific fight shown by the Americans after going down by two goals. 

The Belgian attack was handed the opportunity to batter Howard wit...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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