Following the USA’s 2-1 defeat to Belgium on Tuesday, the U.S. gave every ounce of effort they had to try and make the World Cup quarterfinals.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s men came up short, but they certainly didn’t disgrace themselves against a stacked Belgium team. Having got out of the “Group of Death” unexpectedly, this match was a bonus. What a game it was.
[ RECAP: Belgium 2-1 US, after extra time ]
[ Player Ratings: How U.S. fared vs. Belgium ]
We learned plenty of things from the USA’s entire World Cup campaign, but here are three things from the devastating defeat to Belgium.
The U.S. has a bright future as Yedlin, Green shine
In the biggest game in decades for the U.S. national team, perhaps the biggest ever, a 19 and 20-year-old gave fans of U.S. soccer plenty of hope for the future. Yedlin came on to replace Fabian Johnson after 30 minutes and shone at right back with several marauding runs proving his is ready to step up to the international level. As for Green, well, what can you say? He comes onto the pitch as the youngest U.S. player in World Cup history and within moments he scored with his first touch off a stunning volley. Now we see what all the hype is about when it comes to Bayern Munich youngster. These two are sure to start in Russia the next time the World Cup rolls around. Hope, in the midst of defeat, for the USA.
Giveaways continue to hurt the U.S.
Midway through the second half on TV screens across the world the caption bar popped up at the bottom of the screen and showed that the U.S. had 49 percent of the possession. Really? No way. Time and time again the U.S. gave the ball away and invited pressure from the talented Belgian side. Tim Howard made save after save (more on him shortly) but in the end the dam broke and Belgium powered through. Throughout this World Cup the U.S. failed to keep hold of the ball and struggled to out-possess their opponents. In midfield the likes of Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley failed to keep possession and hopeful balls up to Clint Dempsey just weren’t getting the job done. Possession has to be better for the U.S. in the future, as their battling spirit and organization is second to none.
[ MORE: Tim Howard’s heroics not enough ]
[ MORE: Klinsmann: U.S. gave everything they had ]
Howard stakes his claim as world’s best ‘keeper
16 saves. The most recorded in a World Cup game since 1966. Howard stood on his head and didn’t deserve to be on the losing team. Speaking after the game he was emotional and said he and his teammates gave “everything they had.” In Howard’s case it was everything, and then some. This goalkeeping display will go down as one of the finest in World Cup history, as the USA’s shot-stopper kept the Belgians at bay for 93 minutes. His defense tried their best but were exposed by the ruthless pace of Belgium’s attack but Howard looked unstoppable. He will go down as the best goalkeeper in U.S. soccer history after this performance and is easily one of the top three goalkeepers in the world. This performance proved that.
Could the U.S. have done anything differently?