Belgium vs. United States: Preview

After emerging from what was commonly referred to as the "Group of Death," a cohesive-looking United States will attempt to extend their impressive World Cup campaign against a Belgian side that — despite looking underwhelming at various points throughout the group stage — have yet to concede a goal from open play.

Should the U.S. leave Salvador with a win, they'll book their place in the tournament's quarterfinals for only the third time ever, one win away from matching their best-ever appearance at the 1930 World Cup, when they reached the semifinals while coincidentally defeating Belgium 3-0 along the way.

Meanwhile, a Belgium win will place Les Diables Rouges in the quarterfinals for the second time in the competition's history, one win away from matching their semifinal appearance from the 1986 edition.

The Details

Teams: Belgium vs. United States

Time: 4:00 PM EST

Venue: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador

Television: ESPN (U.S.), CBC (Canada)

Injury Report and Suspensions

The big news going into the match is that Jozy Altidore is available to play for the first time since exiting the U.S. group-stage win over Ghana in the 20th minute with a hamstring injury. However, there are no guarantees that Jurgen Klinsmann will opt to start the Sunderland striker.

Things are looking a lot worse for Belgium injury-wise and suspension-wise. Backup right-back Anthony Vander Borre is out for the remainder of the World Cup due to a broken ankle, Thomas Vermaelen will miss the match because of a hamstring injury, Steven Defour is suspended after receiving a red card against South Korea, and captain Vincent Kompany is a game-time decision.

Historic Head-to-Head

1930 marked the only time that the U.S. and Belgium squared off at the World Cup, a group-stage encounter that the Americans won 3-0.

But the two nations have met in friendly competition on four occasions, with Belgium winning each and every time. In the most recent meeting in 2013, the Red Devils left Cleveland with a 4-2 win.

3 Things To Watch

Does Altidore start?

With Altidore available to play, Klinsmann faces a tough decision regarding whether or not to include the striker in his starting XI.

The absence of Altidore forced Klinsmann to deploy Clint Dempsey as a lone striker against both Portugal and Germany, something that worked better against the former than the latter.

Will Klinsmann revert back to a two-forward system? His decision will obviously be based on what he believes will work best against Belgium's injury-depleted back line.

How much playing time will Romelu Lukaku see?

One of the biggest storylines surrounding Belgium at the World Cup has been Romelu Lukaku losing his place in the team's starting lineup to Divock Origi.

With Origi getting the nod ahead of Lukaku, it will be interesting to see at what point Marc Wilmots inserts the Everton striker into the game should Origi struggle to break down the American back line.

All American eyes on USMNT

The U.S. have attracted the attention of the American public throughout their successful campaign in Brazil, and it's safe to say that record numbers of the population will be glued to their television screen on Tuesday afternoon.