Traditionally, the Concacaf Gold Cup is the premier event contested by the U.S. men’s national soccer team outside of the World Cup. But for myriad reasons, this edition of North America’s biennial regional championship is no conventional competition.
For one, the introduction of the Concacaf Nations League — a year-long event that culminated with the United States topping Canada in Sunday’s final — put a second, more prized regional title up for grabs. The recency of the World Cup, which was played in Qatar this past fall instead of its usual summer slot, left most of the U.