The U.S. lined up against Belgium at 4 p.m. Eastern time today. It didn’t take long for the Belgium team to show why they entered the game the favorites. Divock Origi broke away about forty seconds into the contest, blasting the ball toward the net. But U.S. goalie Tim Howard, the only player standing between the speedster Origi and the net, blocked the attempt.
The United States kept injured star Jozy Altidore on the bench to start the game and lined up in a 4-3-3 with Geoff Cameron starting in place of Kyle Beckerman. Belgium chose a 4-2-3-1 alignment. American Fabian Johnson fell with a right hamstring injury about thirty minutes into the contest. Twenty-year-old Deandre Yedlin substituted for the downed defender and quickly impressed.
Clint Dempsey enjoyed the Americans’ best chance at scoring on a kick in front of the goal just past the twenty-minute mark. De Bruyne DeMarcus Beasley saved a Belgium goal through a sliding stop of a ball that cruised past Tim Howard at around the twenty-five minute mark.
Belgium enjoyed an 8-1 shots on goal advantage. Tim Howard saved four shots. The Americans possessed the ball for a slight majority of the first 45 minutes of play.
About fifteen minutes into the match a fan, clothed, thankfully, sprinted around the end of the field defended by the U.S. The electric atmosphere manifested itself in a more orderly manner in chants of “USA! USA!” in Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil. The action picked up in the stands with the wave when the action on the field slowed.
The U.S. heads to halftime encouraged in keeping the ball out of their net and seeing more offensive opportunities develop as the first half progressed.
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