Numerous emails were passed back and forth, tensions were strained and breakthroughs celebrated when it came to nailing down what the starting XI of a combined U.S.-Mexico team should look like (see below). It really wasn't an easy task, especially with the number of multiposition players that both national teams possess.

Forwards: Carlos Vela, Javier Hernandez
Midfielders: Andres Guardado, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Giovani Dos Santos
Defenders: Fabian Johnson, Hector Moreno, Maza Rodriguez, Timmy Chandler
Goalkeeper: Tim Howard

There will be those who agree and disagree with our final selection, so we thought it was worth explaining how we came to certain conclusions when picking the team. Here's a breakdown of the decisions surrounding the four most hotly debated positions, including goalkeeper, left back, right back and forward.

Goalkeeper

This is possibly the strongest area on the pitch, with both teams having two goalies who would walk into the vast majority of international lineups. There is a fierce debate raging among Mexico fans over who should be in goal for El Tri, and the reality is that Guillermo Ochoa is getting warranted attention from some of Europe's big teams while Jesus Corona can boast having played a key role in Mexico's winning a gold medal at the London Olympics.