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U.S. needs more than Jozy Altidore to carry goal-scoring burden

U.S. needs more than Jozy Altidore to carry goal-scoring burden

If we're being honest, there wasn't a whole lot to be taken away from the United States' 3-2 loss to Denmark in Aarhus on Wednesday. Other than the continued and endemic issue of shipping late goals, which reared its ugly head again, but we've already covered that in this space.

[FC Yahoo: A deeper diagnosis of the U.S.'s Late Goal Syndrome]

What we saw confirmed the suspicion that the Americans are growing more reliant on Jozy Altidore's production up front with every passing game.

On Wednesday, the USA was comprehensively outplayed by Denmark – that's the plain truth – but Altidore's out-of-nowhere goal and his assist on Aron Johannsson's out-of-nowhere goal brought the Americans to within 10 minutes of winning a game they had no business winning.

[FC Yahoo: Klinsmann wastes chance for teambuilding with latest roster mishmash]

Now that Landon Donovan has retired and Clint Dempsey, who did not play Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, has just turned 32, the scoring load will fall heavily on Altidore. Dempsey is by no means done, but he will be 35 by the time the next World Cup rolls around in 2018. There's just no telling how players will hold up in their mid-30s. There are few who stay productive for that long, especially when they're forwards, even when they are exemplary pros like Dempsey.

On a lot of days, Altidore will be the first-, second- and third-best scoring option the Americans have. This has been true for some time now.

[FC Yahoo: Denmark vs. United State – Look back on the action as it happened]

As Altidore goes, so does the U.S. When he goes on a scoring bender, the team tends to put together a string of good results. When the goals dry up for him, the Americans fail to put points on the board and their form collapses.

There are a few reasons why this reliance on him is problematic. Firstly, there is no alternative. It's no coincidence that, at 25, Altidore will likely get his 80th cap next week. Dating back six years, since he was a teenager, no other American has emerged who can consistently lead the line. And in spite of Klinsmann's wishful striving for a more possession-oriented playing style, no such thing has materialized. This team needs a target man to play out to.

Secondly, Altidore is mercurial. At club level, he has traded off prolific seasons with anemic ones. He's a feast-or-famine type of striker, as the majority of them are. Mostly, this has been caused by his meandering club career. Now that he's landed back in Major League Soccer with Toronto FC, however, that problem might yet be resolved.

But the third issue is the biggest regardless of his form: His supply is running dry. Strikers are only as good as the chances they're presented. Without Donovan or Dempsey in the side, he has no real creator. There are no wingers in the player pool who can beat a couple of defenders and set him up.

The U.S. has never had a real attacking playmaker. And Michael Bradley, while perhaps the best distributor in U.S. Soccer history, can only be relied on to occasionally find Altidore with a ball over the top – as he did on Johannsson's goal – or the rare through ball. He just isn't the sort to take on a few players and unlock the defense with a deft final pass.

It might be anecdotal to point to the World Cup, where Altidore went down 21 minutes into the tournament and the Americans struggled desperately to forge any kind of attacking presence through the remainder of their time in Brazil. But it's nonetheless telling for the dearth of attacking options.

If the Americans are to accomplish anything for the foreseeable future, they'd better hope Altidore retains his form and health.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.