International Teams: Why are USA, Canada, and North America Joint Team all in the World Cup?

[Infinite_Jester54]

Like the title says, I'm a bit confused. Playing a save in 2024, and the world cup semi-finalists are USA, Canada, North America, and Russia. How does North America get its players? Are they leftovers after USA and Canada select rosters? Or are they why I (as Team USA manager) had such slim pickings? Is there a way to limit it so each nationality only qualifies for one team?

Just a bit confused here, I usually ignore international hockey. Any guidance would be super appreciated!

[AbeFroman]

Since no World Cup, nor teams, have officially been announced, they're using the last World Cups's format and teams which include a Team Europe and Team North America which consists of players 23 and under from both the US and Canada.

[Raindrops]

too bad we cant pick the teams in the tournament

[Lord PichuPal]

The World Cup of Hockey is also a different tournament from the World Championships, hence the different format. I think it's mentioned that in this version of the game, it's now more likely for players to opt out of playing in the tournaments. So you might not always have the best players available when picking your roster for international teams, depending on how things pan out with their season.

But as somebody else explained, North America and Europe's teams are both under-23 rosters of taking the best available players from both continents, rather than a single country, to combine into one team respectively. Like Team Europe could get Mo Seider and Lucas Raymond as potential options, if they're still young enough in time for the tournament. But after they're over 23, they'd only be eligible for their home country.