Belgium vs. USA in Knockout Round of 2014 World Cup

We are just a few hours away from kickoff where the Belgium men's national soccer team will face off against the USA men's national team. Anticipation has been building up to this matchup because most soccer fans did not believe that USA could make it out of the "Group of Death" where they went 1-1-1;a 2-1 win versus Ghana,2-2 tie versus Portugal, and a 2-1 lose to Germany, but due to their total goal score, was able to succeed to the next round.

The Belgium team will be another difficult task in the way of team USA, and while soccer analysts are counting them out, some good news for team USA is that forward Jozy Altidore could be back out to play for his country. Altidore went down with a hamstring pull during the opening minutes of the Ghana match and was questionable for the remainder of the group matches. According to news sources, he should be able to play, whether as a starter or finisher remains to be seen.

If team USA can get Altidore out on the field, then he could be very beneficial in a scoring position since Clint Dempsey has been carrying most of the load. Michael Bradley has been a solid midfielder for team USA, but he should not be depended on to score, although that is what he has been trying to do since Altidore went down. Other players have stepped up to help out, but this is going to have to be a full on assault if team USA wants to make it out.

My prediction is that this game will be won 1-0 going to team USA in extra time, with the potential to go into penalty kicks. Belgium is not going to lay down and let USA just win, they have reached this point for a reason, and that has been great team play. USA needs to have the countries support if they want to continue in the 2014 World Cup tournament.