“If this was the last World Cup game of Tim Howard’s career, the greatest soccer player in United States history went out with the greatest game of his life — and perhaps the best goalkeeping performance ever at the World Cup.

It’s a shame Howard got no help from his teammates, who hung him out to dry in a crushing 2-1 extra time loss to Belgium. The U.S. World Cup run ended Tuesday in the Round of 16, but it was through no fault of the 35-year-old North Brunswick, N.J., product, whose 16 saves were the most in the World Cup since FIFA started keeping track in 2002.

“That’s my job. That’s what I signed up to do. It’s part of it,” Howard told ESPN moments after the possession-starved U.S. had squandered one of the best goalkeeping efforts in recent memory. “In these big games against top quality competition, the levee is going to break if we continue that. Hats off to Belgium, they were fantastic. But we gave a valiant effort.” * Cenk Uygur (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/AnaKasparian) discuss.

*Read more here from http://nypost.com/2014/07/02/us-goalie-tim-howard-delivers-record-setting-effort/