A Jozy Altidore hat trick was a big contributing factor in the USMNT's come-from-behind 4-3 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Winning in Sarajevo was always going to be a tough proposition for the U.S. National Team as they met Bosnia-Herzegovina in an international friendly on Wednesday. Adding a 2-0 halftime deficit to the equation made even the suggestion of victory seem downright unattainable.
However, the U.S. stormed back, starting with a goal from Sounders FC forward Eddie Johnson and finishing with a hat trick from Jozy Altidore to lift them to a 4-3 victory, extending their unbeaten streak to 12 matches dating back to a May 29 friendly against Belgium.
Johnson and Seattle midfielder Brad Evans both saw extended time in the match, with Evans playing 87 minutes at right back and Johnson playing 63 minutes.
The match started off tilted greatly toward the home side as Bosnia raced to a 2-0 lead off of goals from Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko and Stuttgart’s Vedad Ibisevic. As the U.S. came out of halftime, though, momentum shifted greatly in their favor.
In the 55th minute, Michael Bradley lofted a ball to Altidore behind the defense. With the goalkeeper approaching from the front and defenders converging from all sides, he laid it off to Johnson for a right-footed shot into the open net to bring the score to 2-1.
Altidore followed that up just four minutes later with a left-footed strike from just inside the box, starting his rampage toward a hat trick.
He would add his second direct from a free kick in the 84th minute, then finished off the three-goal night with a quick-counter from the U.S. that finished with Bradley in the box finding Altidore for an open look that he converted for his 20th career international goal.
Bosnia-Herzegovina pulled one back off a 90th minute header from Dzeko, but the U.S. wouldn’t allow them to find an equalizer and finished with a 4-3 victory.
Fresh off the victory, Evans will join his Sounders FC teammates in Houston on Thursday as they prepare to meet the Dynamo on Saturday. Johnson will serve a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation in that match.
