Chris Wondolowski misses easy stoppage-time chance for U.S., wouldn't have counted anyway (Video)

The United States may have lost to Belgium 2-1 in the World Cup's Round of 16, but they put up a terrific effort through the full 120 minutes. In second-half stoppage time, they even nearly came away with a shocking winner that would have sent them to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. But it was not to be — both because of a terrible miss and a questionable call.

On the stroke of the second minute of the three added, U.S. striker Chris Wondolowski, who came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute, found himself with a terrific chance at a winner right in front of the goal. A header from midfielder Jermaine Jones found Wondo with a great deal of space at the goalmouth with Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois not in an ideal position. And then this happened:

It was an absolutely horrific miss for a player known as one of the top goalscorers in MLS. In fact, he was on the pitch in the first place to take advantage of a miss like this. For a second, all American fans felt intense agony. Here's a GIF to relive the pain forever and ever:

Then everyone learned that it wouldn't have counted anyway. The linesman had flagged Wondolowski for offsides, which replays showed was not the correct decision:

Wondo was onside. Look at the shading of the grass. He was fine. http://ift.tt/1o5fqgq

— Seth Kaplan (@Seth_Kaplan) July 1, 2014

So, while the call helped take away some of the pain of Wondolowski's miss, it also didn't change the fact that he missed such a great opportunity.

To make matters even worse, it was not the first time Wondolowski had missed such an easy chance in a big match. In the 2011 Gold Cup vs. Panama, he had this mistake:

It got extra painful for the United States in the first 15 minutes of extra time, when Belgium scored two goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. Nineteen-year-old winger Julian Green got one back for the United States to make it a match once again, but they could not find an equalizer to stay alive in the 2014 World Cup. Belgium took the match 2-1 to move into a quarterfinal against Argentina on Saturday.

When it comes to U.S. soccer, expect a whole lot of drama. Unfortunately, it's also best to prepare for heartbreak.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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