USA's Premier League flop Jozy Altidore is married to a former US Open winner

Former USA forward and Premier League flop Jozy Altidore has appeared at two World Cups for the USMNT and is married to 2017 US Open tennis champion Sloane Stephens

Nick Murphy Sports Reporter and National Content Editor

17:45, 25 Nov 2022

Jozy Altidore appeared for the USA at two World Cups and is married to Sloane Stephens(Image: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Premier League flop and former USA forward Jozy Altidore is a familiar name not just to English football fans, but to tennis fans too.

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Altidore, 33, is eighth on the list of the United State's most-capped players at international level, having clocked up 115 appearances from 2007 to 2019. He has appeared at two World Cups for the stars and stripes - in South Africa 2010 and Brazil in 2014 - but missed out on a spot in coach Gregg Berhalter's squad for Qatar 2022.

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The star recently enjoyed a productive loan spell at Mexican club Puebla from MLS side New England Revolution, scoring twice in six games. But that wasn't enough to earn him a recall to the USMNT for the first time since 2019.

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He'll be watching match between USA and England from home - potentially alongside his tennis star wife Sloane Stephens. The pair were childhood friends, having grown up together in Florida as they broke into their respective sports.

What do you remember of Jozy Altidore in the Premier League? Let us know in the comments section below.

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The pair tied the knot at the start of 2022(Image: Getty Images)

Alitdore and Stephens lost communication until 2016, when they bumped into each other at a Home Depot in California. The rest, as they say, is history.

"I was doing a media scrum in the hallway during a US Mens National team camp," Altidore told VOGUE. "Sloane was there training for Fed Cup in Hawaii. Sloane turned the corner while having a loud conversation on FaceTime.

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"We locked eyes and started talking during the scrum. We exchanged contacts and went to dinner after my game versus Iceland. The rest was history."

Altidore didn't have a great time of it at Sunderland or Hull City(Image: 2014 Getty Images)

Altidore and the 2017 US Open winner announced their engagement in 2019 but didn't finally get married until the start of 2022, owing to Covid-19.

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The pair have both been plenty successful in their own right, with Stephens winning the US Open and Altidore winning the MLS Cup with Toronto, the Dutch FA Cup with AZ Alkmaar and 2017 Gold Cup with the United States.

Despite his success, Altidore isn't remembered hugely fondly by English football fans. The 6ft 1in forward had two forgettable spells in the Premier League with Hull City and Sunderland, scoring just two goals in 70 appearances.

Stephens won the 2017 US Open(Image: Foto Olimpik/NurPhoto)

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He has previously been dubbed by some as the worst Premier League player of all-time. Thankfully, he always has Stephens to count on, with their shared sporting lives a help to their relationship.

Speaking about what it's like being together, Altidore said: "She is somebody who gets everything I am going through without having to say anything.

"You look at each other and you kind of know right away if one of you is annoyed. She just kind of gets the mood I’m in, as obviously she lives a very similar kind of life.

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Altidore will have to be content with watching the 2022 tournament from home (Image: 2021 Kevin Mazur/MG21)

"In that regard it works really well, there is no stress. She is a successful athlete and I do okay, and we just enjoy our time together when we are together."

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