Gyasi Zardes starts for USA as Berhalter returns to tournament-opening XI

Gyasi Zardes - USMNT - clapping and yelling

The United States lineup for their Gold Cup quarterfinal clash with Curaçao in Philadelphia is out, giving fans an answer to one of the biggest roster questions of the last few days.


Columbus forward Gyasi Zardes returned to his starting spot up top, sending Toronto's Jozy Altidore – whose overhead kick was the lone goal of the USMNT's win against Panama on Wednesday – back to the bench for Sunday night's game (8:30 pm ET | FS1, UniMás, UDN).

Altidore, 29, who dealt with a hamstring injury in the months leading up to the Gold Cup the Gold Cup, is by far the more experienced of the two with 113 caps and 42 goals for the US, good for third all-time in the latter category. Zardes did his cause plenty of favors in the opening two games of the tournament, though, scoring once in a tournament-opening win over Guyana on June 18 and twice in a 6-0 rout of Trinidad & Tobago on June 22.


The re-insertion of Zardes is part of a wholesale turnover of the starting XI by Gregg Berhalter, as he returns to the same lineup that started vs. Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago before he made changes at all 11 positions in the final group-stage game vs. Panama. Christian Pulisic will take the captain's armband, leading the team on the field in his home state of Pennsylvania.