USA vs. Denmark: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Friendly

The United States men's soccer put forth a valiant effort that should have been good enough to win, but two late goals in the final 10 minutes by Nicklas Bendtner gave Denmark a 3-2 victory in Aarhus, Denmark, on Wednesday.   

In fact, Bendtner was the entire offense for Denmark in the game with a hat trick. His first goal came in the 33rd minute and tied the game. His second came in the 83rd minute, tying the game again before his heroics in extra time gave the Danes a victory. 

Bendtner seems to be hitting some kind of stride after being unhappy with Wolfsburg. Paul Carr of ESPN noted on Twitter this was the first international hat trick of his career:

Aron Johannsson appeared to be the hero when he scored in the 66th minute, though that scoring opportunity was set up by Jozy Altidore's terrific assist. The 25-year-old had to step up with stars like Clint Dempsey not taking part in this game, and he held up his end of the bargain. 

Altidore started the game's scoring with a 19th-minute goal in which he used his strength and speed to get through two Denmark defenders before unleashing a beautiful left-footed shot into a small gap between goalie Stephan Andersen and the post. 

Alexi Lalas waxed poetic about Altidore's outstanding goal, noting it was possible to find out about it even when standing high above the world:

Dempsey's absence left Altidore in a position of power with this particular U.S. team, as its firepower rested largely on his legs, as Carr pointed out leading up to this game:

Every team hopes to see its best player step up in a key moment. Those times when it does happen are like magic to watch. Altidore had that kind of match for the United States. 

This turned out to be a showdown between Altidore and Bendtner. Both were masterful, even though Altidore was a more versatile presence, and the final score was largely reflective of their very different efforts. 

Unfortunately for Team USA, which was hamstrung down the stretch by poor defense and goaltending from Nick Rimando, Altidore's greatness wasn't enough.

Will Parchman of Top Drawer Soccer wasn't as hard on Rimando for the loss, noting the last line of defense was off its game:

Kayla Knapp of Fox Sports echoed those sentiments, noting there really is no excuse for letting Bendtner look like a scoring dynamo:

As this game went deeper, it seemed like Denmark was waiting to find its opportunities. The Danish team dominated time of possession, holding the ball 60 percent of the time, per ESPN.com, and was constantly on the attack. 

Thanks mostly to Altidore, Klinsmann's offense bagged two goals, despite the possession difference, but a young roster can only handle so much pressure before cracking. 

Speaking to USSoccer.com about his roster decisions, which included Ventura Alvarado and eight others with limited to no national team experience, Klinsmann said it was a deliberate choice in building toward the 2018 World Cup:

"

We want to make the best decision over the next couple of months with these players in order to get the right results when it really matters in the upcoming tournaments. It’s exciting to see that we can bring younger players along and actually have the option to use them in one of those three teams during a very, very busy calendar over the next six months.

"

While that's not a bad strategy to take, as Dempsey will be 35 by the time 2018 rolls around and other starters are getting up their in age, this loss doesn't speak well for Klinsmann's ability to get a team to finish well, as noted by Adrian Healey of ESPN:

"

Jurgen Klinsmann is trying to change the wrong things. How about length of games. 75 mins should do it.

— Adrian Healey (@AdrianHealey) March 25, 2015"

The U.S. and Klinsmann are ripe for criticism after this loss, but give Bendtner and Denmark credit for taking advantage of the situation. Though they were on the defensive, the Americans didn't look they were in trouble. Yet when it mattered most, Denmark came through. 

If there's a silver lining for Team USA, it's that the team won't have to stew for long. Its next match is against Switzerland on March 31. Another loss like this one would be cause for concern, but for now, this just appears to be a hiccup on the way to figuring out a new identity.