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UPDATE: After being cleared to play, and after all of the hype, Jozy Altidore never took the field in the United States’ match with Belgium. Whether his absence had an impact is unknown. But what is known is that after a scoreless 90 minutes, Belgium was able to score twice. The US tried to mount a comeback, but was only able to get one goal. With their win, Belgium moves on to face Argentina in the quarterfinals.
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The big news for this match is that key US player Jozy Altidore has been cleared to play after straining his hamstring in the United States’ first match against Ghana. The timing couldn’t be better – the US faces a Belgian team that has yet to lose at the 2014 World Cup, so they’ll need to pull out all the stops to advance. But just before the match comes word that Altidore won’t be starting. Will he makes an appearance in the match? Will his presence alone make the difference? The match starts at 4 PM ET (8 PM UTC).
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