USA bent and bent, but finally broke in extra time to drop out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup thanks to an impact substitute making an immediate difference.
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku came on at the start of the first extra time and took three minutes to set up a goal by shedding Matt Besler with his pace. Eventually, Kevin De Bruyne clipped a shot past Tim Howard to the far post to give Belgium the first goal in a 2-1 win and a ticket to the quarterfinals in Brazil.
Late in the first half of extra time, Belgium struck on the counter in textbook fashion. This time it was the opposite with De Bruyne setting up Lukaku for a goal. A kiss to the camera on the celebration also seemed a kiss goodbye for Team USA who still had a very admirable overall performance in this tournament. However, as we learned in this tournament, it's almost never in the bag with how drama-filled each match has been. That almost held true here as USA started a furious rally in the second half of extra time.
Just when all hope seemed lost though, Jurgen Klinsmann made the right choice off the bench with the final substitution. He went to young Julian Green who came through in the 107th minute to give USA a glimmer of hope. Off a beautifully delivered ball over the top from Michael Bradley, it was Green who finished on the first touch and cut the Belgium lead in half. Afterward, USA was on the front foot but could not find the equalizer.
The story of the match, even through the flurry of extra time goals was still Howard even in defeat. When USA were conceding possession and unable to keep the ball it was Howard who came up with save after save in what was most likely the performance of his career. Even though the back line had a spirited effort, at times it felt like Belgium vs. Howard who was more than up to task.
Klinsmann made a couple of changes, one of which was a surprise. Geoff Cameron was brought back into the lineup for more size in dealing with set pieces at the expense of Kyle Beckerman. As the half wore on though, USA seemed to miss Beckerman's defensive presence as there was some room to operate especially for Kevin De Bruyne.
The match itself changed course early when right back, Fabian Johnson had to exit the match early with a strained hamstring, the third hamstring injury to a USA player in this World Cup. That brought on DeAndre Yedlin who showed off his speed on both ends of the pitch in the latter stages of the first half.
USA just struggled to get their legs about them, allowing a first minute shot on goal after a couple of turnovers. Passes weren't crisp and Bradley continued to struggle early. However, Bradley did give American supporters a glimpse of his regular form in combining with Clint Dempsey in what wound up a shot on goal in the 21st minute.
Another call in defense has to go to 32-year old DaMarcus Beasley who made a couple of spirited runs and saved a sure goal for Belgium in the first half by clearing a ball out of danger on a centering pass intended for Marouane Fellaini. A member of four straight World Cup squads, Beasley showed his veteran mettle and that he still has the pace to threaten.
Still, it came down to USA not getting enough possession when the game was level. There were communication breakdowns in passing sprinkled throughout the match that cost any chance of promising build up to threaten Belgium keeper Thibault Courtois.
All that said, most people didn't expect USA to make it out of the group. They did that and in very formidable fashion. Guys like Jones and Besler stepped up to the plate.
