Jozy Altidore scored a memorable second half goal to help the United States to a 1-0 win over Panama on Wednesday and set them up for a quarter-final match against Curacao. Altidore's 42nd strike for the national side with an overhead kick just four meters from goal broke the deadlock 19 minutes into the second period and guaranteed the United States first place in Group D. The result meant the Gold Cup champions will play Group C runner-up Curacao in Sunday's quarterfinal in Philadelphia. The tiny Caribbean island qualified for the Gold Cup for the first time in 2017 but had never scored a goal until this year's edition. "Curaçao is a team we can't take lightly, we know that for sure," United States coach Gregg Berhalter said on Twitter. "To me it's a Cinderella story... it's what the @GoldCup is about." Panama, who finished second in the group with six points, will take on Group C winners Jamaica the same night. The United States completed the first stage with three clean sheets and scored 11 goals without conceding any in a group that also included Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Berhalter started the match with a completely different team from their previous two games, meaning the side have used 22 of their 23-man squad in the three matches. "The decision to start 11 new players was an easy one," the coach said. "We believe in the group... we wanted to show that." In the other match, Kevin Molino got Trinidad and Tobago's first goal of the Gold Cup in a 1-1 draw with Guyana on Wednesday but the point was not enough for either team as they both bowed out the competition. Both Caribbean sides lost their first two Group D games to Panama and the United States and had already been knocked out of the competition before Wednesday's game in Kansas City. Neil Danns put Guyana ahead in the 54th minute when he cut in from the left and hammered his and Guyana's third goal of the tournament into the top corner of the net. Molino equalized with 10 minutes remaining to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago did not finish the tournament with no goals and no points. — Reuters
