Best XI of Players From USMNT, Canada and Mexico at the FIFA 2026 World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup comes at a special time for soccer in the three co-hosting nations of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

For the first time, all three enter the tournament with legitimate hopes of making a deep run in the knockout stages, buoyed by home crowds. For the U.S. and Canada in particular, the depth and talent of the national team player pools have never been better, either, with visions of the squad coming perfectly together on the sport's greatest stage.

Here, Sports Illustrated has assembled the best XI from the co-hosting nations, with the standard being a player's inclusion on the team's official roster, even as some are nursing injuries, like the USMNT's Chris Richards and Canada's Alphonso Davies. For the purposes of selecting the best possible players for the squad, we have chosen a 3-5-2 formation.

GK: Matt Freese (USMNT)

The goalkeeping situation for all three nations is weird, at best. For the USMNT, the era‘s stalwart, Matt Turner, relinquished his role to Matt Freese amid struggles to find playing time in Europe, while Canada has picked Maxime Crépeau to start ahead of 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair. Mexico, meanwhile, has had a revolving door, and Guillermo Ochoa is back in the mix now at 40 years old.

We've gone with Freese, who has been the USMNT's primary choice for most of the past year and is the frontrunner to start at the World Cup. His shot-stopping ability with New York City FC stands out, and he's likely the safest bet out of all the largely lackluster options for the position.

RCB: Chris Richards (USMNT)

A bona fide Premier League star, Richards helped Crystal Palace capture the FA Cup last season and this year helped guide them to the Europa Conference League Final. While he has dealt with recentinjuries, his calmness in defense, aerial prowess and target-man potential in set-pieces make him a clear-cut choice.

CB: Johan Vásquez (México)

Johan Vásquez plays a demanding style for both club and country. While his approach has always been defined by grit and smart, aggressive moments, he has developed tactically during his time in Serie A with Genoa. This season, he started 36 games at the back, and this summer, he will look to build on his stellar tenure with El Tri, which also often relies on timing, positioning and consistency.

LCB: Moïse Bombito (Canada)

The Canadian defensive stalwart missed most of the 2025-26 season with Ligue 1's OGC Nice after breaking his leg in a collision with the USMNT's Folarin Balogun, but at his best, he is among the world's best center-backs. The 26-year-old clocked in as one of the fastest players in Ligue 1, an honor he previously led in MLS with the Colorado Rapids.

His positional awareness, dribbling skills to create space out of the back and sheer speed that allows him to play a more aggressive style have set him up well in this team. If he manages to impress at the World Cup, the offers from bigger clubs could come rolling in.

RW: Tajon Buchanan (Canada)

An enigmatic dribbler and pacey winger, Tajon Buchanan hit a new level with Villarreal in Spain this season, scoring seven goals and an assist. His abilities as a transitional player stand out, elevated by his pinpoint passing ability, intuitive overlapping runs and ability to cut inside and take shots from distance. He's one of just a few Concacaf players who can truly break open a game.

CM: Weston McKennie (USMNT)

The best player on the USMNT in the 2025-26 European season, McKennie's versatility is his best weapon with both his national team and Juventus. Playing for Italy's Old Lady this season, he scored five goals and five assists, while spending time at nearly every position (nine of the possible 11). Now in the USMNT, he finds himself as a lynchpin to open up more attacking options for the offensively-minded players around him.

CM: Érik Lira (Mexico)

The heartbeat of Cruz Azul's 2025 Concacaf Champions run, and 2026 Liga MX title, Érik Lira has a knack for influencing games in a defensive midfield position, earning the nickname "The Pitbull". He's a gritty duel winner who thrives doing the dirty work and can play as a center back or midfield anchor and thrives in both roles.

CM: Christian Pulisic (USMNT)

Christian Pulisic had a bad season at AC Milan, ending his campaign on a 19-game goalless streak, before snapping that with a goal and assist in his first USMNT match of the summer, a 3–2 win over Senegal. While he's had a dip in form from his best days, his transitional ability, positional awareness and resume make him undroppable in a co-hosting XI.

LW: Alphonso Davies (Canada)

Alphonso Davies has had a tough year, but at his best, he is the outright best player in Concacaf. ACL recovery and several muscle injuries limited him to just 851 minutes across all competitions in 2025-26, where he scored one goal and five assists, before picking up another hamstring strain that has him at less-than fully fit for Canada's World Cup journey.

When he's in form, though, few players can catch him, with his dribbling skills, straight-line speed and jumping ability, as he showed on his nation's first-ever World Cup goal.

ST: Raul Jímenez (Mexico)

Raul Jímenez is the best striker in Concacaf right now. After a skull fracture threatened his career in 2020, he re-emerged with a new physical look and added vigor to his goalscoring outlook as well.

One of the few Mexican players to play overseas, he finished the 2025-26 season with nine goals and three assists with Fulham and, to this point, has been the only co-hosting striker in recent history to play a starring role in the Premier League, the league that is sending the most players to the 2026 World Cup.

ST: Jonathan David (Canada)

Jonathan David might have had some troubles adjusting to Serie A with Juventus after lighting up the goalscoring charts in Ligue 1 over his five seasons with Lille, but the two-time defending Concacaf Player of the Year has continued to impress for club and country. He finished the season with six goals and four assists, and remains the attacking lynchpin for Canada's World Cup hopes.

While his adjustment to different coaches at Juventus throughout the season and his battle with Dušan Vlahović limited his opportunities, he still stood out in moments. The USMNT's Folarin Balogun is the clear snub in this spot, given his success in Ligue 1-but even his 13-goal season doesn't measure up to David's outputs at that same level, before earning the step up to Serie A.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 6:00 PM.