That's it. It's the end if the road for the United States. And frankly, they deserve it. This was a matchup against Belgium that I thought they could win. I thought Belgium was lazy and unmotivated. They only played when things got tough. I guess things were tough all game yesterday though.
The tone was set early when Divock Origi found space down the right flank and was free on goal. Tom Howard made a beautiful save. Turns out this was mere foreshadowing of what was to come.
The USA defense had their hands full for the entire match. Every Belgian possession seemed to end in a quality scoring chance with Howard bailing out the porous American back line. The saddest part about his historic 16 saves, the most in a World Cup match since 1966, was that they were necessary at all. If the USA had been better at clearing their lines, better at keeping up with the agile Belgian attackers, and did less ball watching, Tim Howard would have had far less to do yesterday.
With all the shots going through to Howard, it was only a matter of time before one tickled the twine. That moment came early in extra time when tired US legs couldn't handle a fresh Romelu Lokaku. Lukaku literally ran through DeMarcus Beasley, streaked down the right flank, and got a quality shot. The rebound on that shot fell right to Kevin de Brunye, who buried the easy shot. Towards the end of the first half of extra time, it was Lukaku finishing his own chance when the USA was caught on the break. The fresh striker had no problem roofing his shot in the net.
Although Julian Green got a very impressive goal for the USA early in the second half of stoppage time, the two Belgian goals buried the Americans. Their late game surge, while impressive, should never have been necessary. Had Chris Wondolowski buried his clear chance at the end of regulation, or Beasley not been run over by Lukaku, or the back line just weren't so porous in general, that frantic surge at the end wouldn't have been needed.
The good news here is that the USA has hope for the future. Julian Green because the youngest American ever to pay in a World Cup match and he scored on his first ever touch. He is the future of the American attack. The team in general exceeded expectations by getting out of the group of death and fighting hard with Belgium for 120 minutes. This World Cup was a success, believe it or not, despite the disappointing ending.
Jurgen Klinsman told us that they wouldn't win the World Cup. This tournament was about gaining experience for the young American players. Lots of young guys got important minutes that will lead to more success in 2018 and 2022. The two big mashes were the afore mentioned Julian Green and right back DeAndre Yedlin that ready impressed in three brief cameo appearances.
The other match on the day was another extra time thriller. Argentina had been held scoreless by a tough Switzerland team until the waning moments of extra time when Angel di Maria finally scored for the Argentines. The Swiss came close to tying it a minute later, but found only the post in their quest to stay alive.
The road may have over for the USA, but there are still eight more games to be played in this World Cup. The quarterfinal round brings us plenty of intriguing matches that are sure to be can't miss affairs. Too bad we have two days off before they get started.
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