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Altidore withdraws from USMNT camp due to injury

For the second time in two days, the U.S. Men’s National Team saw a player withdraw from camp due to injury.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that forward Jozy Altidore has left camp due to an injury picked up on domestic duty with Toronto FC. Altidore left Toronto FC’s 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew on Sunday in the 70th minute.

Altidore follows LAFC defender Walker Zimmerman who withdrew from camp on Monday following injuries he suffered also on Sunday.

The 30-year-old scored 11 goals and registered seven assists in 22 league matches for TFC this season. He last appeared for the USMNT in last summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup.

Gregg Berhalter’s squad now stands at 25 players for upcoming Concacaf Nations League matches against Cuba and Canada, beginning Oct. 11th in D.C.

Comments

  1. Has NEVER been crowned the highest scoring AMERICAN in MLS
    Has NEVER scored more than 15 goals in regular season (his highest season is in 2017 with 15 goals!!!)
    Has NEVER won any single category in MLS
    Has NEVER dominated anything in MLS
    ……..and yet he is the benchmark for strikers on the USMNT??? ? HOW???

    Altidore – started for the USMNT in 2007 – has played 115 games
    Bobby Wood – started for the USMNT in 2013 – has played 45 games
    Gyasi Zardes – started for the USMNT in 2015 – has played 53 games
    ………and we argue about the most goals for an American Striker (like WC or Gold Cup)??? Hahaha ? ?, well no $hit, with 115 appearances????

    Throughout his time in MLS, other strikers have proven that if you give them the same time on the field or the same opportunity like Altidore, game in game out, without the fear of being dropped after 1 bad game, they are better than him. He is 4th among American strikers in Goals – 2019, 3rd among American strikers in Goals – 2018 and 2rd among American strikers in Goals – 2017 (NOT OVERALL, JUST AMERICAN STRIKERS). Yet we all act surprise when he is up top, against foreign adversaries and can’t score or even get shots on goal; we condemn all the strikers THAT ARE BEATING HIM IN GOALS but him. Some people here try and argue about his “striker rate” for the national team. Haha ?, well he has had 115 chances….60+ more games than the next runner-up on our current striker list!!!!

    Is there another job for striker other than putting the ball in the back of the net??? Zardes is not that good (agreed), can’t cut it currently against TOP international competition (agreed) and is not the answer for the USMNT (agreed), but he has scored more combined goals than Altidore in the last 3 years in MLS (not to mention Wondolowski, who is about to retire, yet has better numbers than both of them in the last 3 years). C.J Sapong has the exact same accumulated goal tally as Altidore in the last 3 years and he is not even a factor for the USMNT…….hmmm food for thought ?

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  2. Calm down, guys! We’re all USMNT’s fans. It’s almost game day. We should focus on our energy and time towards supporting and cheering for our team, not the manager, GM and USSF though.

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  3. this is really not complicated, jozy has the high strike rate for the NT at the moment at a goal fewer than every 3 games. then wood at slightly under 4. then sargent at 4.5. zardes is then at 5.3. there is also the interesting question of how soto fits in. jozy is hurt and wood is slumping but i don’t see how a reasonable person looking at that stats rank says zardes is top of the heap. unless they used to coach him at club and are biased. “oh, but his club goals….” they don’t show up for the Nats. who cares.

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    • bobby wood has 3 more goals than zardes, in far more difficult games, on fewer caps. if we had a brain he’d be in camp so we could try and fix the superior option. to me it’s lazy to call a worse option because you might have to get off your tail and do some rust-scrubbing to help him along. a sane team would try to get its best players going and not field second rate players based on dubious notions of passing club “form.” talent is talent. players with more talent in tougher club situations shouldn’t be punished because they don’t punch a clock for the crew (on the way to missing the playoffs).

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      • Only someone who tries to argue with everything that US soccer does would assume a guy who hasn’t played in basically 2 years is the same player he was two years ago. Hamburg benched him, Hannover wouldn’t even dress him and now Hamburg won’t play him. Neither of those clubs have great strikers in front of him either. That’s four or five managers that haven’t rated him over some pretty average talent. Zardes is a place holder for sure but again the idea that Soto, Toye or Wood are better isn’t factual.

      • you saying that a player that can’t even get games in second tier of Germany is one of our best tells me everything i need to know about your player evaluation. Bobby is with a team that really doesn’t even want him, but can’t offload him because of salary, so this idea that bringing him into camp to “fix him” is crap and hardly the truth. The NT is not for developing or helping players get back to form, and this is what mystifies me when people say we should bring in youth players to get them acclimated to the set up. I’m all for youth players, but when the time is right, so if you’re a young player who has to be loaned out, in the reserve team or aren’t getting minutes you need to stay club side or with the U-23’s. But if you’re like Dest, Aaronson, Pomykal, Miles Robinson you should be given a look, which is what has happened!

  4. And that is exactly why you cannot count on Antiscore anymore. He will always be injured when you need hom. If GB starts Zardes I think my head will explode. What a horrible mistake Ernie has made. We will not qualify for anything playing his buds

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  5. Sorry but if Morris or any other player started as many games as zardes has had at central foward they would also have as many goals or more. I get it people out there love zardes not me horrible first touch not as quick as other players like Morris or Sargent and definitely not as gifted as sargent also zardes has bad hold up play.

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    • I don’t think anyone loves Zardes but the idea that guys playing in U19 leagues or who are less successful in MLS would be better is silly.

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    • his NT strike rate is poorer than Sargent’s. we could try and fix wood, a younger player with more productive history, or the hang up on the kids is basically fear of the unknown. what the bandwagoners don’t seem to acknowledge is that when you are as bad as zardes that constitutes its own performance risk. you know statistically he won’t show up for big games or score more than every 5th or 6th match. i don’t get how that isn’t seen as its own risk when people are trying to compare him to the kids. this speaks to how it’s become about talking points pointed at specific players who are also an option, as opposed to the rigorous determination who produces best by a universal standard — which doesn’t favor Zardes over anyone but MLS scrubs.

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      • there is more of a bandwagon to get rid of Berhalter and to bring in players who don’t deserve it yet then there are otherwise, so to try and slight reasonable thinking fans is pathetic

    • i would have brought in a list of people like mendez ledezma e. alvarez and cap tied them all. use the cuba game we should win easily. would also be a better b team than the trash we will field. you watch, we will have to work for this one.

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      • With Olympic Q around the corner we need all of our best youth players playing together to help get us qualified for that tourney, so we’re not hear years from now saying there was another lost generation of players…..the likes of Mendez, Ledesma, Soto and others are right where they need to be. If we”re scared to lose players who are already in the set up and who ussoccer has put tremendous amounts of time into at youth levels because the senior team managemane feels they arent ready, then those players were never fully invested in playing for the US anyways(ala Jona Gonzalez).

  6. Yeah but zardes played for a team that didn’t make the playoffs and at center foward were he has no competition at forward and gets plenty of tap in or counter attack goals at the international level he has proven he cant replicate that play. Morris is more important for sounders but scores less because he plays out of the wings.
    I don’t understand the love fest for zardes those stats prove my point wondolowski and Altidore under Zardes. We need younger prospects to gain experience not necessarily to start but have options.

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    • One Zardes and the Crew were without Higuain for most of the season which probably cost him 3 or 4 goals. Crew didn’t make the playoffs largely because of their defense they gave away a ton of late goals that cost them points. Zardes has 10 us goals in 53 matches Morris has 6 in 35 so pretty similar. If your not impressed with Gyasi’s goal scoring ability you shouldn’t be with Morris either. Toye is pretty much Zardes five years ago, tons of athleticism but if the defense takes away what he wants to do he doesn’t do much. Don’t get me wrong I’d start Sargent over Zardes but the idea that these youngsters like Toye or Soto are better just is not reality.

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  7. Not surprising at all bring in someone from U23 Zardes is not up to par at this point Zardes would start despite Sargent being a better player in a better league due to more experience of zardes that’s what berhalter will say. Don’t care what anyone says we need to bring in youth fowards Soto and toye they are the future that is needed badly. Altidore is done he is not physically fit seems overweight at times and is always getting injured. We have no one to compete zardes has not showed center forward qualities I would rather have Morris play center foward with sargent on the right.

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    • Fairjudge,
      If only the USMNT and USSoccer where serious about grooming and developing our young talent (and showcasing their talent in international matches)

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    • Zardes has more goals in the same league as Toye and Morris. Do you think the reason you value say Toye is that you haven’t seen him play much?

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      • Johnnyrazor
        “Chris Wondolowski has more goals in the same league as Altidore and Zardes. Do you think the reason you value say Altidore is that you haven’t seen him play much?” haha?

      • i think zardes should be a wide player at which point compare their NT stats when he and boyd and morris have each played wide for the NT. for now, they are apples and oranges. there is no reason to move morris in when he is currently the best RF option. there is reason to want something better than zardes, whose position is supposed to make him focal but makes him less impactful than arriola or pulisic.

  8. Zero from Zero is Zero. No goals on the team, in clutch moments, is the same as no goals off the team……in clutch moments.

    Heal up Jozy….live to “not score” another day!!!

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      • Of course he will have more goals in WC qualifying IF HE IS THE ONLY ONE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY DURING WC QUALIFYING hahaha. Now when you put him on the field and compare his abilities to other strikers WHO ARE GIVEN THE SAME OPPORTUNITY, game in game out……

        Goals – 2019
        Chris Wondolowski – 15 goals 2 assists
        Gyasi Zardes – 13 goals 2 assists
        Jozy Altidore – 11 goals 7 assists
        C.J Sapong – 13 goals 2 assists

        Goals – 2018
        Chris Wondolowski – 10 goals 5 assists
        Gyasi Zardes – 19 goals 0 assists
        Jozy Altidore – 7 goals 1 assists
        C.J Sapong – 4 goals 3 assists


        Goals – 2017
        Chris Wondolowski – 13 goals 8 assists
        Gyasi Zardes – 2 goals 2 assists
        Jozy Altidore – 15 goals 6 assists
        C.J Sapong – 16 goals 5 assists

        ……and yeah, he doesn’t amount to much (among MLS strikers that is ?)

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