We were SO close! Unfortunately, the US men’s national team was eliminated this afternoon, losing in extra time to Belgium. Despite a record setting performance by goalie Tim Howard, team USA ultimately fell to Belgium 2-1. Despite being deemed “ready and available” for today’s matchup, Jozy Altidore did not play in the game.
Howard, who had a record sixteen saves in today’s matchup, described the loss as “heartbreaking”. “I don’t think we could have given any more. What a great game of football. We got beat by a really great team. It’s heartache. It hurts,” he continued. Howard only allowed two mistakes, allowing Kevin De Bruyne and substitute Romelu Lukaku to get the ball passed him during extra time.
Julian Green made things interesting scoring a goal for the US with twelve minutes to go during the period. Green’s goal appeared to energize the US team, but they were unable to score again. Belgium moves on to the quarterfinals where they will face Argentina.
