The Concacaf Nations League is left with the final two most expected to be there, but it certainly wasn't a cakewalk.
Both the U.S. men's national team and Mexico labored Thursday night in the semifinals in their first competitive matches since group play in the tournament ended in November 2019. Whether it was the time away from meaningful matches, heavy legs due to the completion of a long yet compressed European club season and playing at altitude, opponents who were wrongfully overlooked or some combination of all of that, it came down to the wire for both regional powers to emerge from the semifinals.