U.S. hangs on to beat Germany 4-3 in friendly

WASHINGTON – With every passing game, every misfire on goal, every time Jozy Altidore put on a U.S. jersey it felt three sizes too small. Instead of striking with abandon, Altidore played tighter and tighter. And his scoreless streak stretched longer and longer.

Until Sunday in the 13th minute against Germany. When Graham Zusi crossed a perfect ball into the box, Altidore was ready. He one-timed a powerful right-footed volley into the right side of the net then knelt on the end line and pulled back an imaginary bow to shoot an arrow in celebration.

Altidore finally found his target, scoring his first national team goal since Nov. 15, 2011, as the U.S. defeated Germany, 4-3, in an international friendly before a sold-out crowd of 47,359 at RFK Stadium.

The result was entirely unexpected given the Americans had played poorly in a 4-2 loss to Belgium on Wednesday, the same day Germany pummeled Ecuador by the same score. With three World Cup qualifiers coming up in 12 days for the Americans, there was reason for concern.

The defense was in shambles, the goal scorer wasn't scoring, all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan was still doing penance for his four-month self-imposed sabbatical and U.S. fans were panicking.

Until Sunday when all the angst disappeared into the hot and sticky air. On a day, U.S. Soccer chose to celebrate its centennial, at the creaky stadium where it has played more games than anywhere else in the world. In 22 games at RFK, the U.S. is 14-3-5.

Even though Germany was without much of its first team, a squad ranked second in the world, it was still stocked with talent. For much of the game, the U.S. had outclassed the soccer power, until giving up two late goals to make the game look closer than it actually was.

Two second-half goals by captain Clint Dempsey, along with a cartoonish own goal by keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the 16th minute, put the Americans in command.

For U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who won a World Cup playing for Germany and then coached Germany to a third-place finish at the 2006 tournament, it was a meaningful step in building process "that comes with some hiccups," he said the day before the match.

Other than the late defensive lapse, there were few hiccups on Sunday, especially for Altidore. This spring the 23-year-old had set the scoring record for a U.S. player in Europe with 31 goals for his Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar. His proficiency abroad made his U.S. drought even more befuddling.

Entering the game, the what's wrong with Jozy questions continued to mount, as Altidore stayed clear of reporters on Friday and Saturday, not wanting to answer an inquiry that he had no answer for.

Instead, others were left to act as his proxy. So what's wrong with Jozy? "It's kind of the topic at the moment," midfielder Michael Bradley said before the game. Among the team?

"No, with you guys," Bradley said, pointing to the row of reporters. "As far as we're not scoring enough goals, Jozy's not scoring enough goals. Look, goals come in bunches."

Unexpectedly so.