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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 His work complete for the day, Jozy Altidore walked into the room wearing two heavy dog tags, gifts to the U.S. World Cup players from a group of military members on Friday here. The tags, which landed with a &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;thunk&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;on the table when he sat down, bore American flags and a universal engraved message for a group of athletes about to represent the U.S. on the world stage:\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;STAY FIT! STAY STRONG! STAY RESILIENT!&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThis is probably the best gift I\u2019ve ever gotten,\u201D said Altidore, who had just scored both U.S. goals in a 2-1 win against Nigeria, the last game before the start of the World Cup in Brazil. \u201CTo know that [the U.S. military] respects what we\u2019re doing is an amazing feeling.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WAHL: Three Thoughts on USA 2, Nigeria 1&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Stay resilient!&lt;/em&gt; The message on those dog tags probably fits Altidore better than any other U.S. player. Strikers go through ups and downs more than players at any other position, and after a terrific 2013 with the national team (where he was the U.S. male player of the year) and at the club level with AZ Alkmaar, Altidore struggled this season at Sunderland, scoring just twice in all competitions.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He hadn\u2019t scored for the U.S. either in 2014 until Saturday, when Altidore struck first on a tap-in at the end of a marvelous build-up and then thundered home the eventual game-winner after skinning Nigeria\u2019s Joseph Yobo. &amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWorld class,\u201D said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann afterward. \u201CI think it will give him a lot of confidence. It\u2019s always a tough period when you don\u2019t score for a striker and everybody lets you know that. So you get more and more anxious about the situation, and you work harder and harder, which he did the last three-and-a-half weeks in camp \u2026 And then you just wish that the moment comes and you put it in there, and then you go and start to be your own self again.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WATCH:&amp;nbsp;Altidore&amp;nbsp;finds back of the net twice to break slump&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Friday, when goalkeeper Tim Howard was talking about earning his 100th cap, he was asked to name his favorite U.S. game and immediately referred to the 2-0 victory over Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup semifinal. It was hard not to think about that seminal win again on Saturday as Altidore finished with authority in the same way that he did five years ago against Iker Casillas to help end Spain\u2019s 35-game unbeaten streak.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Altidore was just 19 then, and it was impossible not to think the U.S. might have found its first player who could become a world-class center forward. Strong and skilled, blessed with a cannon of a shot, Altidore has always had the potential to break new ground for Americans in the world\u2019s game. We\u2019ve certainly seen it in moments for the national team and during parts of his club career in the Netherlands, if not yet in England.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe know we have a striker who had a tough year at Sunderland, but everyone knows he has so much talent, so much potential,\u201D&amp;nbsp;Klinsmann said. \u201CWe just want it to come through, which it did last summer tremendously in our World Cup qualifying campaign. So we see him being back on the right track.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MEET THE 23: Player pages, videos for every U.S. World Cup player&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Klinsmann also pointed out that Altidore needs delivery from his teammates, and he got that against Nigeria. Michael Bradley sent him a great ball on the second goal, and Fabian Johnson made another surgical run up-field from the right back position before giving Altidore the assist on his first goal.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Johnson\u2019s last four assists for the U.S. come on goals scored by Altidore. \u201CHe\u2019s my roommate,\u201D said Altidore. \u201CYou see what he brings. He\u2019s up and down, he can score goals, he creates them. He\u2019s a problem for other teams.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So too is Altidore, especially over the last two games. If he can continue doing that in Brazil (&lt;em&gt;STAY FIT! STAY STRONG! STAY RESILIENT!&lt;/em&gt;), there\u2019s no reason the U.S. couldn\u2019t recreate the same magic it had against Spain in 2009. &lt;em&gt;Potential&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;can be a loaded word, but it\u2019s also a synonym for &lt;em&gt;possibility&lt;/em&gt;, and on days like Saturday Altidore can see the potential for something special at this World Cup.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI think it\u2019s there,\u201D he said.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-futbol/2014/06/07/jozy-altidore-usa-nigeria-usmnt-world-cup-jurgen-klinsmann>