USMNT, Mexico and Canada face proving ground in September friendlies ahead of 2026 World Cup

The next official matches the United States, Mexico and Canada will play are their respective World Cup openers in June, with El Tri kicking off at the Estadio Azteca, the U.S. opening the tournament in SoFi Stadium and Canada debuting in Toronto.

Before those high-pressure matches, with all three North American teams hoping to have their best-ever World Cup showings as they share hosting duties in 2026, all three have a series of friendly matches. With few opportunities to fine-tune their squads, what do they need to get out of the exhibition contests they’re playing in the September window?

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USMNT needs an identity check

• Saturday, Sept. 6 vs. South Korea in Harrison, New Jersey

• Tuesday, Sept. 9 vs. Japan in Columbus, Ohio

The United States must show reasons to believe its best World Cup showing in the modern era is within reach. That has been Mauricio Pochettino’s mandate, in many ways, since he arrived at this time last year. The former Chelsea, PSG and Tottenham Hotspur manager has noted that he hasn’t had much time to get to know his team.

That’s why there are four uncapped players on his 26-player squad and eight more players who have a dozen caps or fewer. Those players generally don’t carry frustration from the last time the U.S. played friendly matches against other teams who will likely be at the World Cup. Ahead of the Gold Cup, the Americans fell 2-1 to Türkiye and 4-1 to Switzerland, causing considerable angst and concern before the U.S. put together a run to the Gold Cup final.

The other big task? Vibe well with Christian Pulisic. The AC Milan attacker is the best player the U.S. has, and his relationship with Pochettino certainly was strained by his decision to ask out of the Gold Cup. While Pochettino said he hadn’t had any reason to speak with Pulisic since the tournament, the player was called, he accepted and it seems like everything is resolved — for now.

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Other relationships seem likely to either flourish quickly or see players left by the wayside until the next cycle begins. Pochettino indicated this is the last time he’ll experiment with new players. Gold Cup omissions like Norwich City forward Josh Sargent and Club América winger Alejandro Zendejas will see this as their last opportunity to convince the staff they must be on the list when they start crossing names off next month.

Mexico must prove progress is real

• Sept. 6 vs. Japan in Oakland, California

• Sept. 9 vs. South Korea in Nashville, Tennessee

Mexico faces the same teams as the U.S. in this window, but it does so as the Gold Cup champion. Not only does it have that continental trophy, thanks to a 2-1 win over the U.S. in July and the Nations League crown thanks to a 2-1 victory over Panama in March, it also goes into the fall feeling somewhat settled.

It’s almost an uncomfortable place for Mexico to be in, but the only real questions about the roster seem to be whether or not veteran Guillermo Ochoa will earn the nod as a reserve goalkeeper (he’s not in this roster as his club future remains unsettled) and on the other end of the age spectrum if 16-year-old Gilberto Mora should be with the group. He and fellow senior-team prospects Pachuca midfielder Elias Montiel and Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas are working with the U-20 team this month ahead of the U-20 World Cup in Chile.

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But the starting goalkeeper, both center backs, the midfield and even the starting attackers largely pick themselves for manager Javier Aguirre.

What must El Tri do this month? It must figure out its best shape. That could start with reintegrating Hirving Lozano. The San Diego FC winger has proven in MLS that he is still very close to the level he showed when based in Europe, but an injury kept him from joining the squad this summer. A place as a wide attacker in the XI may be on offer if Aguirre opts for playing a shape with a single forward. It seems the two-forward look, with the manager deploying the “law firm” forward duo of Fulham’s Raul Jimenez and AC Milan’s Santi Gimenez, is something he’d do again only in certain situations.

It’s good to have options, but Mexico would do well with a “base formation,” even if the way the team plays out of that setup doesn’t change wildly.

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Canada must keep building momentum

• Sept. 5 vs. Romania in Bucharest

• Sept. 9 vs. Wales in Swansea

Canada is the odd-team out, not only leaving the continent for a pair of road titles but also not having made the Gold Cup final. Jesse Marsh’s squad fell to Guatemala in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinal of the continental championship, extending a trophy drought that goes back to the 2000 Gold Cup.

Yet, there is still reason for positivity ahead of the European swing, namely Canadians already excelling on the old continent. Tajon Buchanan scored a hat trick in La Liga on Aug. 24, pushing Villarreal past Girona and now has been joined at the eastern Spain club by countryman Tani Oluwaseyi. He debuted last weekend after moving from Minnesota United. Star forward Jonathan David took a step up, moving from Lille in Ligue 1 to Serie A giants Juventus. He scored in the season opener against Parma and had another good showing in Week 2.

What must Canada do? It needs to see these strong performers do it with the national team and also needs to see the back line cover the form it showed during its run to the Copa América semifinals.

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Notably, another transfer mover — center back Derek Cornelius — went from Marseille to Rangers in the summer window. He’s in the team for these games, but defensive partner Moïse Bombito still isn’t fit enough to make a return. He should be back this fall, but there are bigger questions about Bayern Munich superstar Alphonso Davies, who is recovering from an ACL tear suffered in March and hopes to return to the field before the end of the year. The club said he started training with the ball again Monday.

These games will give Canada good competition and another taste of playing away from home — something it hopes to do after advancing from the World Cup group stage and out of the two rounds of knockout matches that will take place in Canada.