After just nine minutes of today's Gold Cup quarterfinal match, United States striker Jozy Altidore appears to have suffered a relatively severe hamstring injury and has had to be substituted out of the match as a result. Juan Agudelo is the only striker on the bench for the USMNT, and as a result, he has entered the match. Agudelo has played more as a second striker than as a No. 9, so it will be interesting to see how he operates up top in this 4-2-3-1 formation.
USA Vs. Jamaica, 2011 Gold Cup Quarterfinals: Jozy Altidore Injured, Substituted out
The good news for the United States is that Jamaica is having some trouble dealing with this setup. They're playing with a three man back line and they seem a bit confused about who is supposed to be picking up the runs of Sacha Kljestan from midfield. The bad news, other than the fact that Altidore is injured, is that they left Chris Wondolowski out of the 18 man squad. He would almost certainly be the closest thing to a like for like replacement.
While the USMNT looked solid before Altidore went down, they had one very shaky moment in the 4th minute. After Dane Richards beat Eric Lichaj on the wing, the US back line looked completely disorganized and allowed Jamaica to create a couple of chances. From well inside the box, Ryan Johnson had a shot well saved by Tim Howard, and Luton Shelton skied a sitter on the rebound.
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