Where Pulisic, McKennie, Ochoa line up

The United States and Mexico meet in a curiously scheduled friendly on Wednesday, featuring mainly youngsters from the MLS and Liga MX.

Considering this game is taking place outside of FIFA’s international window and both squads are missing their big stars, we’ll see some promising youngsters and domestic league regulars. Given that this show is more watered down than usual, we asked: What would a combined US-Mexico All-Star XI look like — even if the stars from those two teams aren’t in that particular game?

Christian Pulisic paired with Santiago Gimenez at the top? Memo Ochoa ordered around the “MMA” midfield? Here’s how ESPN correspondents Jeff Carlisle, Cesar HernandezAnd Kyle Bonagura compiled their statements.

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Carlisle XI: Place for Reyna as ‘Chucky’ not first choice

Forward: Pulisic, Gimenez, Reyna
Midfield player: McKennie, Alvarez, Musah
Defender: Gallardo, Ries, Montes, Dest
Goalkeeper: Ochoa

Photo credit: Chosen11

There are many photo finishes in terms of who gets into this roster and who doesn’t, which isn’t a surprise given how evenly balanced these two teams have been over the years. In goal, Guillermo Ochoa’s blistering form for Serie A’s Salernitana narrowly edged out Arsenal’s Matt Turner. In defence, it’s even an honor to have left-back Jesus Gallardo and centre-back Cesar Montes represented El Tri while long-time favorites Tim Ream and Sergiño Dest fill the positions of central defender and right-back respectively.

In midfield, between Leeds United’s Tyler Adams and Ajax’s Edson Alvarez, the number 6 is probably the most difficult to choose. Both excel in terms of defensive prowess, but Alvarez gets the nod as he’s slightly better on the ball and occasionally shows up for goals. The remaining members of the US “MMA” midfield – Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah – round out the engine room, with Luis Chavez as the oddball.

In attack, the US duo Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic occupy the wing positions. Hirving “Chucky” Lozano has been a fixture at Napoli this season, but Reyna has twice as many goals in about a third of the minutes for Borussia Dortmund this season. If his health allows, he will only get better.

At the top, Santiago Gimenez is just good enough to beat Groningen’s Ricardo Pepi thanks to his 19 goals in all competitions for Feyenoord.

Hernandez XI: Pulisic paired with Gimenez for a powerful duo

Forward: Pulisic, Gimenez, Lozano
Midfield player: McKennie, Adams, Chavez
Defender: Robinson, Ries, Alvarez, Dest
Goalkeeper: Ochoa

Photo credit: Chosen11

Quinto Partido guaranteed with this squad. On the net, Ochoa is the easy answer as a starting goalkeeper following his recent exploits with Salernitana. As for full-backs, Mexico have a growing list of promising options, but I still think Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and AC Milan’s Dest are a tiny step above their rivals south of the border for now. In between, there would be no lack of leadership or defensive solidity in a Ream-Alvarez partnership.

In midfield, one cannot ignore the energetic Leeds duo of McKennie and Adams, who then leave another place in the heart of the XI. Musah and Erick Gutierrez could make great arguments for themselves, but I’ll stick with Pachuca’s Luis Chavez, who can provide immense support in both defense and attack. Not to forget his X-factor with free kicks and long-range shots.

On the wings, Pulisic and Lozano would give any opponent a headache with their potent mix of speed and clever dribbling. Reyna and Timothy Weah in my starting XI both narrowly missed the cut for a spot on either side but would be immediate options off the bench – as would Carlos Vela in this fictional scenario where he reopened the door to Mexico.

As the sole forward, we finally choose one of the most exciting young names in European football: Gimenez. While Pepi should deserve credit for his performances in the Eredivisie through Groningen, Gimenez has had a much better run in 2023 with 11 goals and one assist in his last 14 games for Feyenoord.

Bonagura XI: Alvarez on Adams in the new MMA midfield

Forward: Pulisic, Gimenez, Reyna
Midfield player: Musah, Alvarez, McKennie
Defender: Dest, Ries, Montes, Robinson
Goalkeeper: Ochoa

Photo credit: Chosen11

At the risk of sounding totally biased, I think we’re at a point now where it’s obvious that the US national team is in a much better position than Mexico. This weighs recent results, current talent, trajectory of player pools, etc. Wednesday’s friendly won’t provide much valuable data to add to the discussion, but it’s still fun to watch every iteration of the rivalry.

There’s a case for Lozano on the wing but – if all three players are healthy – he’s a step behind Pulisic and Reyna. That being said, none of the three has maxed out their abilities over the past year for various reasons. Gimenez or Pepi remain as strikers. They have had a similar performance in the Eredivisie this year (Gimenez 11 goals in 27 league games, Pepi 11 in 24). Gimenez gets the nod for now, but should Folarin Balogun make the switch from England to the United States, he’ll be well off the field.

For me, Musah is the best midfielder in the region. His ability to keep possession and move the ball forward is special and his versatility makes him even more valuable. McKennie is similar in that he can affect the game in a number of ways – set pieces for example – and needs to be there. That leaves Adams or Alvarez (since Alvarez played in midfield rather than centre-back at the World Cup) for last place. While Adams has been America’s most important player in some games, his ballplay limitations favor Alvarez.

It’s hard to believe that this is 2023 and the best defender between Mexico and the United States is 35-year-old Ream, but here we are. USA’s pair of full-backs, Robinson and Dest (although Dest’s stock has cooled), is a fairly straightforward choice in my view, while the other center-back (Montes in this case) has no obvious choices.

I would have liked to have tried to prove Turner is better than Ochoa at this point, but as he is not a regular at Arsenal any advanced goalkeeping stats showing his worth feel too outdated for this exercise.