US Loses To Belgium Despite Strong Showing From Howard
US 0-1 Belgium
The great play of goalkeeper Tim Howard kept the US in the game, but ultimately could not keep Belgium from getting a 1-0 win over the Americans. Though the US is now 0-2-1 under Klinsmann, promising play from Brek Shea, Jose Torres, and Clint Dempsey shows what could happen once the team’s performance catches up with their coach’s plans.
Much like the game against Costa Rica, the US showed some promise early on in the game, but did little to test the Belgian keeper or the back four during the run of play. The best chance of the game for the US came in the first half from a set piece in the 5th minute. With Donovan in the States, Clint Dempsey stepped up to take a free kick outside of the box. Dempsey’s shot was kept low and skipped off the wet surface, hitting Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet’s face. Altidore was there to try for the rebound but the ball was cleared away by Belgium before he could get a touch.
At around the 20 minute mark Belgium took control of the game and began to test the US backline and Howard. For the most part the center pairing of Clarence Goodson and Carlos Bocanegra kept the Belgians from getting good chances at goal, but Howard had to come up big on a long distance shot in the 26th minute from Timmy Simons.
In the 34th minute Howard made the save of the game when Everton teammate Marouane Fellaini sent a volley on frame from just outside the 6 yard box. Howard had little time to react, but was able to get his hands up and parry the ball away from goal.
At half time Klinsmann brought on Juan Agudelo for Jozy Altidore, who once again struggled to link up with his fellow attacking players. Midfielder Kyle Beckerman was also subbed in for an ineffective Robbie Rogers pushing Clint Dempsey to right wing.
The addition of Beckerman helped to contain the Belgian attack while also providing a bit of an offensive push that was missing from Maurice Edu. However the switch did little to stop Belgium from finally finding the back of the net in the 55th minute with one of their 13 shots of the game.
After Fellaini was able to get a flick-on header from a long throw, Dempsey was unable to connect for a clearance and the ball ended up at the feel of Belgian defender Nicolas Lombaerts who fired a hard low shot through traffic in the box. Howard was able to react to the strike, but could not get down quick enough to stop the shot as the ball skipped under him on the wet grass.
With the score 1-0 the US began to press more against the Belgian side that was looking to hold on to their lead. The most promising runs came from wingers Shea and Dempsey. Shea was easily winning his match up with Laurent Ciman and sent in a couple of promising balls into the box, but they failed to cause any real problems for the Belgian defense. A bit of flare and aggressive dribbling opened space for Dempsey to get the team’s second and final shot on goal, but he didn’t make good contact and left Mignolet with an easy save.
In the 83rd minute it looked like the US had tied the game up when Maurice Edu ran on to a ball nodded down by Goodson during a set piece. However, the goal was called back by the official for a currently unclear reason.
Scoring Summary:
BEL – Nicolas Lombaerts (Marouane Fellaini) 55th minute
Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 2-Steve Cherundolo, 4-Clarence Goodson, 5-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.), 3-Timmy Chandler; 6-Maurice Edu, 10- Jose Torres (15-Jeff Larentowicz, 76), 8-Clint Dempsey; 7-Robbie Rogers (14-Kyle Beckerman, 46), 9-Jozy Altidore (18-Juan Agudelo, 46), 11-Brek Shea
Subs not used: 12-Bill Hamid, 13- Michael Orozco Fiscal, 16-Sacha Kljestan, 17- Jonathan Spector
BEL: 1-Simon Mignolet; 2-Laurent Ciman, 3-Toby Alderweireld, 4-Vincent Kompany (capt.), 5-Nicolas Lombaerts; 6-Timmy Simons; 7-Eden Hazard (16-Marvin Ogunjimi, 63), 10-Axel Witsel, 8-Marouane Fellaini (15-David Hubert, 63), 11-Dries Mertens; 9-Igor de Camargo (14-Romelu Lukaku, 63)
Subs not used: 12-Jean-Francois Gillet, 13-Timothy Derijck, 17-Jelle Vossen 18-Moussa Dembele, 19-Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, 20-Jelle van Damme, 21-Thibaut Coutois
Stats Summary: USA / BEL
Shots: 6 / 13
Shots on Goal: 2 / 5
Saves: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 3 / 5
Fouls: 11 / 13
Offside: 1 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
None.
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