By FRANCO PANIZO
Jozy Altidore will make his return to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s starting lineup on Wednesday, and he will do so as the Americans’ captain.
U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced to reporters on Tuesday that Altidore will wear the armband in Wednesday’s friendly vs. the Czech Republic, the first international match that the striker with 71 caps to his name will play in since suffering a World Cup-ending hamstring injury in the Americans’ tournament opener vs. Ghana back in June.
Clint Dempsey has regularly served as U.S. captain in recent years, but he is not on the current roster for the match in Prague as Klinsmann has gone with a 22-man squad comprised of lots of young players.
The 24-year-old Altidore is fully recovered from the Grade 2 hamstring tear he frustratingly sustained in the 2-1 win in Natal back on June 16. He has seen time in Sunderland’s first three games of the Premiership season, making cameos off the bench in each of them.
Altidore also recently started and went the distance for the Black Cats in a Capital One Cup victory over Birmingham City.
The Czech Republic friendly is the Americans’ first match since bowing out of the World Cup in the Round of 16.
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