After watching the U.S. national team lineup he chose for Wednesday's semifinal against Jamaica start so strongly, Gregg Berhalter has decided to stick with the same side to take on Mexico in Sunday's Gold Cup final.
There are no changes to the USMNT side that will take on El Tri in the final at Soldier Field, but that doesn't mean there aren't some surprises.
The biggest surprise in the lineup is at right back, where Reggie Cannon gets the nod ahead of Nick Lima. Cannon came into the tournament as the back-up to Lima, but showed well in the group stage finale against Panama, then followed that up with a very good showing against Jamaica. He will face a difficult challenge against Mexico, with playmaker Rodolfo Pizarro the likely assignment for the young FC Dallas defender.
Jozy Altidore earns the nod at striker again, starting ahead of Gyasi Zardes in a decision that wasn't all that surprising after Altidore performed well against Jamaica and Zardes struggled off the bench.
In central defense, Matt Miazga will earn his third start of the Gold Cup, edging out Walker Zimmerman for the spot next to Aaron Long at the heart of the USMNT defense. The Chelsea defender began the tournament on the bench, with Zimmerman performing well in the tournament's early matches, but Berhalter has chosen to go with Miazga, who is the better passer, and arguably a better complement to Long than Zimmerman, particularly against Mexican side that sets up with one striker in Raul Jimenez.
Jordan Morris has been tipped to start ahead of Tyler Boyd on the right wing, a bit of a surprise given how well Boyd played during the group stage. That said, Morris has the experience edge on Boyd, having played against and scored against Mexico before, and also having scored the winning goal in the 2017 Gold Cup final.
Weston McKennie has been named USMNT captain for the match, marking the first time in his career he has been U.S. captain. Berhalter has rotated the captaincy throughout the tournament, and has now turned to the Schalke midfielder, who is enjoying an outstanding tournament for the Americans.
