Altidore hits hat trick in Villarreal debut

In his first appearance for Villarreal, Jozy Altidore starred scoring a hat trick as the Yellow Submarine destroyed San Rafael 7-1 in a friendly match on Saturday afternoon.

The 18-year-old striker should be extremely pleased with his performance in a match that saw many of Villarreal's regulars away on international duty, which allowed him to jump into the starting 11.

Altidore scored the game's first goal, not even a minute into the game, showing why the La Liga runners-up from last season spent $10 million to bring him to eastern Spain. He tallied again before halftime and then closed out the scoring late in the match sealing his hat trick, a huge accomplishment for the youngster.

Joining Villarreal from the New York Red Bulls in early June, Altidore wanted to start his European career off on the right foot, and with this performance, the former 17th overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft certainly did that.

Some may speculate that if Altidore builds on his play against San Rafael, the youngster may soon become more involved with the U.S. national team, as they themselves have had trouble finding the net of late, only winning 1-0 against Cuba on Saturday.

-- Goal.com