United States coach Gregg Berhalter handed a surprise recall to central defender Walker Zimmerman for Saturday’s World Cup last-16 clash against the Netherlands at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Nashville defender Zimmerman, who was dropped for Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Iran, returns to the starting line-up in place of Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers to resume his partnership with Fulham’s Tim Ream.
Zimmerman started the USA’s first two games of the World Cup, a 1-1 draw with Wales and a 0-0 stalemate against England, conceding a crucial late penalty against the Welsh.
Carter-Vickers impressed against Iran on Tuesday and had been expected to start against the Dutch.
Zimmerman was one of two changes in the US starting line-up as the Americans chase a quarter-final berth against a Dutch team that is unchanged from their final group game against Qatar.
Norwich striker Josh Sargent failed to recover from a knock suffered against Iran and is replaced by Colombian-born FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira.
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, who suffered a pelvic injury while scoring the winning goal against Iran, was also named in the starting line-up after passing a fitness test.
