World Cup 2014: United States striker Jozy Altidore available for Belgium match

Jon Arnold

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World Cup 2014: United States striker Jozy Altidore available for Belgium match image

United States star Jozy Altidore is set for a World Cup return on Tuesday against Belgium in the round of 16, according to a tweet from the official U.S. Soccer account.

 

 

The forward has been unable to play since he pulled up with a hamstring injury while chasing a long ball in the Americans' tournament-opening victory against Ghana. Altidore traveled but did not dress for group matches against Portugal and Germany as he recovered. The 24-year-old started running during training again last week and participated in the open portion of training Monday.

Clint Dempsey has played as the lone striker in the Sunderland man's absence, but while Dempsey has performed well, Altidore's athleticism and physicality has been missed by Jurgen Klinsmann's side.

Jon Arnold

Jon Arnold Photo

Jon Arnold covered the Mexico national team and Concacaf region in English for Goal until March 2020. His byline also has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times Goal blog, FloFC and Pacific Standard. In addition to his written work, he serves as the Concacaf expert on the BBC's World Football Phone-In and has appeared on SiriusXMFC in English and Fox Deportes and Milenio in Spanish. Formerly based in Tijuana and currently living in Texas, Jon covered the 2018 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America, the 2016 Copa America Centenario and the last five Gold Cups.