Perez’s start in goal is a bit of surprise, since Stefany Castano — who started Colombia’s World Cup opener against Mexico — was expected to return to the nets after Sandra Sepulveda was suspended for yellow-card accumulation. It’s rare for a team to get three-deep on its goalkeeping depth chart in one competition.
The United States sticks with the 4-4-2 it has been playing, with Alex Morgan against pairing with Abby Wambach up top:
Solo; Krieger, Sauerbrunn, Johnston, Klingenberg; Heath, Lloyd, Holiday, Rapinoe; Morgan, Wambach
Heath and Rapinoe will work the wings again, feeding the two strikers, but this lineup doesn’t really concern the biggest complaint about the Americans so far: that is, Lloyd and Holiday haven’t really been much of a creative force in midfield.