Why Jozy Altidore is the USMNT’s most important player against Mexico

There’s no one in the United States men’s national team player pool more polarizing than Jozy Altidore, which is mostly down to his extremely polar performances. The best version of Altidore is the best target striker that his country has ever seen; the worst version of Altidore doesn’t belong anywhere near the 18-man squad.

This is the biggest difference between Altidore and his predecessors, Brian Ching, Brian McBride, and Herculez Gomez. Those were consistent players, always contributing something with their work rate and hold-up play no matter how poor they were when it came to shooting. No one could ever say that those players hurt the team, or that they were the reason for a loss. That’s something that has been fairly said about Altidore on many occasions.

But none of them had Altidore’s physical talent or knack for scoring spectacular goals. Even though McBride found the back of the net 30 times for the USMNT, including three times in the World Cup, he’s never put a world class defender on his ass quite like this.

Altidore seems to be a nailed-on starter for the Americans against Mexico in their World Cup qualifier on Friday night, and there’s every reason to believe the best Altidore will show up. He’s been excellent in 2016, in every way, though it didn’t always look like he’d get here.

That goal against Spain came the summer after a disastrous season for Altidore at Villarreal and Xerez, and likely earned him a shot at the Premier League, which went as poorly as possible. He scored once for Hull City and got sent off in his final game. For the next three years, Altidore was a bit-part player for his national team, struggling to find his form even as he revived his career at AZ Alkmaar.

Altidore’s career roller coaster has continued since then. He followed up his excellent stint at AZ with a stunning run of eight goals in seven games for the USMNT in 2013, before struggles with Sunderland and Toronto FC led to two more largely unproductive years in a national team shirt. But in 2016, Altidore has been one of TFC’s best players, and he’s carried that form over to the national team. He has six goals in six games, including four in World Cup qualifiers, and he’s improved significantly in the non-scoring areas of his game, as well.

The term “confidence player” is often used to excuse players who just aren’t any good. Maybe that’s what you think of Altidore. But there’s little doubt that he’s exactly that — a player who can dominate games when he believes in his abilities and one who can sulk and become invisible when things aren’t going his way. Poor finishing from strikers is frustrating, but there’s nothing more infuriating for players, coaches, and fans alike, than watching a hold-up target striker simply stop working to win the ball and bring his teammates into the game. That’s been Altidore on many occasions.

Thankfully, 2016 has been a different story. The USMNT has Altidore to thank for their comfortable progression to the Hex, and Toronto FC has him to thank for their first-ever trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Over his last three MLS games, Altidore has been at his best, both in finishing off plays and holding off defenders to create space for his club strike partner, Sebastian Giovinco.

USMNT fans were probably excited to see this impeccable finish over the weekend.

But they should be even more excited with the work he’s doing to create goals for others. He had four key passes in Toronto’s first-round playoff win over the Philadelphia Union, two more in their first leg victory over NYCFC, and then two again in the second leg, including this assist.

That’s the most important thing about Altidore’s game when he’s at his best, and what the USMNT really needs against Mexico on Friday night. In tough rivalry games or matches against teams with equal or superior talent — and the Hex match against El Tri is both — Altidore can’t count on getting a high number of scoring chances. Mexico will have a lot of the ball, and their three-man defense creates matchup problems, giving them a spare man at the back against the USMNT, who will play some variation of 4-4-2.

With the Americans unlikely to have an easy time getting the ball to their strikers in the final third, it’ll be crucial for Altidore to move constantly to make space for himself and others. He’ll have to win 50-50 balls on the ground and in the air. He’ll have to hold off multiple defenders when he receives the ball and make the right pass to keep attacks moving.

No player is more crucial to the USMNT on Friday night than Altidore, and Jurgen Klinsmann has every reason to believe he’ll get the most out of his star striker. Altidore is in top form: confident and willing to do all of the dirty work to make things easier for his teammates.

If Altidore replicates his three playoff performances for Toronto FC against Mexico, the USMNT has a good chance of starting off the Hex with a win over their biggest rivals. There’s a good chance he’s the Man of the Match without scoring a goal or tallying an assist. But his ability to score fantastic goals out of nothing sure is a nice bonus.