What would a combined USMNT, Mexico, and Canada team look like?

If you haven’t heard yet, the United States, Mexico, and Canada have submitted a joint bid to host the 2026 World Cup. They’ll ask FIFA to give all three countries automatic host slots, but it’s unclear if they’re going to be able to pull that off. After all, Mexico and Canada will only be hosting 10 games each, while the United States hosts 60, including the big matches from the quarterfinals all the way to the finals.

So let’s pretend FIFA made up a new one-host, one-team rule, requiring the United States, Mexico, and Canada to combine forces and become one super team. And let’s not do it in 2026, let’s just combine forces and create Team NAFTA right now.

By far the weakest of all the roles on the team. Arena, Juan Carlos Osorio, and Octavio Zambrano are all competent, but none have spectacular records. I’ve decided to go with Arena because he’s a bit more predictable and adept at grinding out results than Osorio. Even with a squad this talented, Team NAFTA will not be World Cup favorites. They’ll need to be well-organized and have a cohesive system to advance far. JCO would bust out a random 3-4-3 with no actual central midfielders in the Round of 16 and get dunked on.

This was a hard choice. Tim Howard is still a very good goalkeeper, but he was let go by Everton for a reason. He’s lost a hair of reaction time. Memo has been excellent when called upon by El Tri recently. This might be the next-weakest position after manager, honestly.

“FABIAN JOHNSON IS A MIDFIELDER,” a group of furious USMNT fans cry out. And you’re right, but Johnson isn’t one of the two best wingers available to this team. He is one of the two best fullbacks available to them though, and definitely one of the best 11 players. He needs to be in the team, and this is where he fits.

Here’s where the Mexico fans start yelling at me. Hector Moreno is very good, but he also dropped back down from La Liga to the Eredivisie for a reason. He’s not nearly as good in the air as Brooks either.

Yes, Nestor Araujo is better than Geoff Cameron. Fight me.

While Layún has played on the left and cut in on his right foot more than he’s played on the right for El Tri and Porto, he’s done both effectively. And on this team, with a pair of wingers that prefer cutting inside, I need fullbacks that stay wide and can put a cross in. Some of Layún’s best performances for Mexico have come while he’s doing just that.

Reyes has played a bit more center back than midfield in his career, but he has plenty of experience at both spots, and has performed very well for El Tri in the spot recently. I want the two players ahead of our defensive midfielder to be very aggressive going forward, so I wanted a strong and athletic DM who’s going to win the ball a lot.

Guardado has enjoyed a career resurgence since moving into the center, and I think he’s going to interact with the two Americans on the left very well. He was the first name in this starting XI for me.

The entire concept of this team is built around what Guardado and Herrera do best. Both are versatile players that have proven they can play multiple roles in multiple systems, but they’re the best players in the American or Mexican player pool. Everything should be built around getting them the ball frequently and giving them license to get forward, so they’re playing together in the center ahead of a DM and not being asked to worry too much about defensive shape.

For anyone mad about the preceding two paragraphs, I think Pulisic will become the best player from any of these three countries within a couple years, but I’ll still take Guardado or Herrera in a game I need to win right now. Anyway, he’s still first choice and will probably be even more effective with Mexican midfielders than he is with American ones.

Is a Vela-Layún flank defensively deficient? Maybe. Do I care? Absolutely not. Carlos Vela rules and has to be in this team.

This was a difficult decision. I think the players behind Chicharito would create a lot of chances for a goal-poaching center forward, and I want Chicharito there to finish them off. But it’s possible a poacher isn’t the best fit for this team and Arena would want to try something different after a few matches. Still, Chicharito is the best striker available from this pool, so he gets the nod to start.

Tim Howard (USA), Milan Borjan (Canada)

Milan Borjan is not actually the third-best goalkeeper available for Team NAFTA, I’m just being nice to Canada.

Jorge Torres Nilo (Mexico), Timothy Chandler (USA), Hector Moreno (Mexico)

Because our starting defensive midfielder can play center back, I’ve decided to only have one central defender on the bench in order to have a better variety of attacking substitute options. Sorry to DeAndre Yedlin fans, Chandler has had an excellent season in the Bundesliga.

Jesus Molina (Mexico), Atiba Hutchinson (Canada), Jonathan Dos Santos (Mexico)

Three different players for three different purposes. Molina’s a true DM, but more of a passer and mover than Reyes. Hutchinson has a ton of experience and will be a great sub to settle games down if needed. JDS is more of a true passer than any of the starting midfielders.

Jurgen Damm (Mexico), Hirving Lozano (Mexico), Clint Dempsey (USA), Raúl Jimenez (Mexico)

Damm is more of a true winger than Vela and is much better defensively, so he’ll be a very useful sub. Lozano is a bit more powerful and direct than Pulisic. Dempsey gives Arena a second striker option, while Jimenez is more of a hold-up forward than Chicharito. I wanted to put Cyle Larin in this team, but he doesn’t give them anything they’re lacking. He’s tall Chicharito.

If I left out your favorite player, I assure you that both of these things are true: That I have a personal vendetta against you and that I’m biased against your favorite team. Thanks for reading.