The United States and Belgium are playing on the World Cup round of 16 schedule on Tuesday in Salvador in Brazil and the game is live on ESPN and the WatchESPN website with a live stream at 4 pm and in Univision for the Spanish language coverage as team USA tries to advance in the knockout stage.
The United States has the chance to set the World Cup on fire with a win here, as they are once again underdogs in the matchup. No one gave the team a chance to get out of the group of death with Germany, Portugal and Ghana, but here they are and a spot in the last eight is on the line as the team plays the final game of the round. The US comes in after winning one game in the group stage, drawing against Portugal and losing against Germany, but that was enough for the team to advance, while Belgium had a much easier side and now this is the biggest match in US soccer history and could be an all-timer.
Jozy Altidore is for enough to play and he may get some minutes, but Jurgen Klinsmann is giving nothing away and if he plays or not, just having him fit again is an advantage after he was injured early against Ghana. The US has made this run despite having their best player on the sidelines and that is a testament to the team that Klinsmann has built and what he has instilled in his team. Team USA is confident and they feel they still have not played their best game and players like Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley know that this could be it. The Belgians are more talented than the Americans, but they do not have the experience of team USA and that is what the United States hopes gives them an advantage.
The United States started off their World Cup trek with a goal from Clint Dempsey 30 seconds into the game against Ghana and that was massive, as the team allowed a goal back in the final minutes. The team was not ready to lose though and a header from sub John Brooks put the team through for the win and those three points are basically why the team is through to the next round. The US needed those points, as they nearly beat Portugal and ended up with a draw before losing to Germany and that gave them enough to get through.
Altidore is not starting in this game and Jurgen Klinsmann is hoping to give Dempsey some help up front and he will be key to this game. Dempsey had a great goal against Ghana and then scored what could have been the winning goal against Portugal and now he could be what puts the team through to the next round. Argentina just advanced, while Brazil faces Colombia and Germany matches up with France and those games will be huge for the quarterfinals. The US is looking to play against Argentina and that would mean a match with Lionel Messi and he comes in as the best player in the world and one of the leading scorers in the tournament.
Check here for the United States and Belgium live coverage and stream for the World Cup from Brazil.