Altidore's Final Flourish

On This Day in 2019, the Veteran Striker Scored the Winner in a Victory to Close Out Gold Cup Group Play—His Last in a US Jersey

In the summer of 2019, as the United States Men's National Team approached the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Gregg Berhalter faced the delicate task of balancing expectation with experimentation. Six months into his tenure as head coach, Berhalter had assembled a squad that reflected his philosophy of measured development rather than wholesale revolution. The Americans carried the weight of redemption – their absence from the 2018 World Cup still a fresh wound.

The tournament had begun promisingly for the United States. In their opening match against Guyana at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Americans had needed thirty minutes to break through Caribbean resistance before eventually prevailing 4-0. Tyler Boyd, the former New Zealand international who had switched allegiances to the United States, announced himself with two excellent strikes that helped the Americans find their rhythm—his first in the 51st minute being the 1,000th goal in U.S. national team history.

Three days later, in Cleveland, the Americans faced their most emotionally charged opponent of the group stage. Trinidad and Tobago, the team that had crushed American World Cup dreams in October 2017, provided the perfect foil for a statement performance. The 6-0 demolition that followed was cathartic in its completeness. Christian Pulisic, deployed in Berhalter's preferred attacking midfield role, orchestrated the destruction with a performance that validated his status as the program's new standard-bearer. Aaron Long scored twice, Gyasi Zardes added a brace of his own, and Paul Arriola capped the rout that officially announced the Americans' return to competitive respectability.

The comprehensive nature of the victory against Trinidad suggested the United States had found its footing under Berhalter's system. The possession-based approach that had looked tentative in earlier friendlies now flowed with purpose and precision.  As the Americans prepared for their final group stage match against Panama at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, the stakes were both minimal and profound. Both teams had already secured passage to the quarterfinals, rendering the result largely academic in terms of advancement. Yet for Berhalter, the match represented an opportunity to test his squad's depth while maintaining the momentum that had carried them through two dominant performances.

The June 26 match would be notable for Berhalter's decision to completely overhaul his starting eleven, making all eleven changes from the team that had dismantled Trinidad and Tobago. Most significantly, the lineup featured the return of Jozy Altidore, making his first start for the national team in twenty months, carrying profound symbolic weight. The veteran striker had not featured in a starting lineup since that devastating night in Couva, when the United States failed to qualify for the World Cup. Injuries, club struggles, and the natural evolution of the player pool had pushed the 29-year-old to the periphery of the national team setup. Yet Berhalter's decision to start him against Panama represented both a pragmatic choice and an act of faith in a player who had served as the American attack's focal point for nearly a decade.

The match itself unfolded with the US controlling possession as expected, amassing nearly two-thirds of the ball while limiting Panama to sporadic counterattacks. Yet the dominance in possession failed to translate into clear scoring opportunities during a first half that belonged more to tactical maneuvering than genuine excitement. Altidore, clearly working his way back to full fitness after recent hamstring troubles, showed flashes of his technical ability while struggling to impose himself physically on Panama's compact defense. His best chance of the opening period came when he found space in the penalty area but sent his effort wide of the left post. A second opportunity saw him shoot directly at Panama goalkeeper José Calderón, failing to find the precision that had once made him one of CONCACAF's most feared strikers.

The tactical battle continued into the second half, with both teams maintaining their disciplined shape despite the low stakes. Panama, content to absorb pressure and look for opportunities on the break, managed just one shot on target throughout the entire match. The United States, meanwhile, accumulated more than twenty touches in the Panama penalty area but lacked the final pass or clinical finish to break the deadlock. Berhalter introduced Christian Pulisic in the 65th minute, hoping the Chelsea midfielder's pace and technical ability could unlock Panama's stubborn defense. The substitution had an almost immediate impact, as the Americans finally found the breakthrough they had been seeking.

The goal arrived in the 66th minute through a sequence that perfectly encapsulated both the beauty and chaos of international football. Djordje Mihailovic's corner kick from the right flag sailed toward the far post, where Matt Miazga rose to meet it with a powerful header. The ball went toward the goal, where Panama defender Kevin Galván's attempted clearance only succeeded in creating more danger. It was then that Altidore produced the moment that would cap not only the match but, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, his international career. Tracking the flight of the ball as it bounced unpredictably in the penalty area, the veteran striker adjusted his body position with the instinctive timing that had made him successful at the highest levels of the game. With his back to goal and the ball arriving at an awkward height, Altidore executed a perfectly timed bicycle kick that sent the ball arcing over the prone Calderón and into the back of the net.

The goal was vintage Altidore – a moment of technical brilliance delivered when his team needed it most. The striker's celebration was far from subdued, kissing the US crest, jumping in the air with a fist pump, and he let out a yell of relief. You could see what it meant to him on his face. For a player who had scored 42 international goals and endured the highs and lows of three World Cup cycles, this strike in Kansas City carried special significance as validation of his continued value to the national team program. Altidore's path to that moment had been marked by both triumph and tribulation. 

Since making his international debut in 2007 as an 18-year-old prodigy, he has evolved into one of the most prolific scorers in U.S. national team history. His early career had been defined by breakthrough moments – becoming the youngest American to score a hat-trick in international play against Trinidad and Tobago in 2009, scoring in the semifinal victory over Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup, and establishing himself as the team's primary attacking threat during the 2010s. By 2019, Altidore's role in the national team setup had become increasingly uncertain. The emergence of younger strikers and his own injury struggles had limited his opportunities under Berhalter, making his Gold Cup inclusion something of a surprise to observers who assumed his international career was winding down.

The victory over Panama completed a perfect group stage for the United States, as they became just the second American team in Gold Cup history to post three clean sheets in the group phase while amassing an impressive +11 goal differential. For Berhalter, the group stage performance validated his patient approach to squad building. Rather than rushing to implement wholesale changes or relying exclusively on youth, he had found the "diversity" he preached – veteran leadership from players like Altidore and Gonzalez, prime-age talent from the likes of Pulisic and Tyler Adams, and developing prospects like Tyler Boyd and Jonathan Lewis.

The victory set up a quarterfinal meeting with Curaçao, the Dutch Caribbean territory that had emerged from Group C as surprise qualifiers. As the U.S. squad departed Kansas City, few could have known they had witnessed Altidore's final goal in an American jersey. The bicycle kick against Panama would stand as his 42nd and last international strike, a fitting conclusion to a career that had seen him rank among the top three goal scorers in national team history. His 113 caps had encompassed three World Cup cycles, four Gold Cup tournaments, and countless memorable moments that helped define American soccer during its most internationally successful era, though this wouldn't be his final impact this tournament.

As the Americans prepared for the knockout rounds, they carried with them the confidence that comes from comprehensive preparation and systematic execution. The road to Gold Cup glory remained challenging, but for the first time since the debacle in Trinidad, the United States approached tournament football with genuine optimism rather than desperate hope. The group stage had been conquered; now came the true test of Berhalter's vision and this team's championship mettle.