The Copa America is likely to be the most hotly anticipated tournament of 2015, but that does not mean that people must ignore the less glamorous CONCACAF Gold Cup.

One thing both of those tournaments have in common: The winner gets an entry into the 2017 Confederations Cup, the preamble to the 2018 World Cup.

For the most part, the Gold Cup seems like a ceremony for the United States or Mexico to make a run to the final, but there are reasons why this just might not happen in 2015. With the exception of 2000 when Canada hoisted the trophy, only the Americans and Mexicans have been sole possessors of the hardware. Here are some reasons why there might be another new champion in this tournament.

1. Tough Group for the USA

Of the three groups, there is no doubt that Group A is the group of death. Haiti is a walk in the park for the most part, but Panama and Honduras will provide major challenges for the US squad.

Panama had an impressive World Cup qualifying campaign during the last cycle and was minutes away from making it to the playoff against New Zealand. Who ruined the party? The Americans, who scored twice in the final moments of the game to eliminate Panama from contention and give Mexico a free pass into the world's biggest tournament. Do you think that Panama has forgotten? Not at all. The team is good enough to make it happen.

Then there is Honduras, a team that has often given the Americans trouble and made a run to the World Cup last cycle. The team performed poorly in Brazil, but that was a result of being in a difficult group for its skill set. The team knows how to take it to the Americans and will provide a major challenge.

2. Mexico not at full strength; key players in questionable form

To be fair, this is not completely fair. Mexico did send numerous veterans to Chile for the Copa America, but kept most of its key men including Guillermo Ochoa, Paul Aguilar, Andres Guardado, Giovani Dos Santos, Oribe Peralta, Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez.

There are some caveats with some of these players. Ochoa rode the bench at Malaga for most of the year, as did Chicharito. Their effectiveness will be put to the test in this tournament. Peralta was Mexico's main man in the qualifiers but he had a dip in form this past season, which could bode poorly for the 31-year-old. Dos Santos went from scoring 11 goals in 2013-14 for Villarreal to scoring just once in 24 games. Injury played a large part in that and could still be bother him in the tournament. Carlos Vela also saw a dip in production in 2014-15, but he also played fewer games with Real Sociedad.

These players, while proving valuable in the past, will have to answer a lot of questions about their form and fitness in this tournament. They might not be up to the mandate and that could sink Mexico in the tournament.

3. Costa Rica

Of all the CONCACAF teams in the World Cup, most felt that Costa Rica was the first to depart for home. Instead, the team wound up extending its stay in Brazil longer than any other team in its Confederations with only a penalty shootout loss against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals forcing the team to return home.

Costa Rica was terrific in qualifying last year and has a solid team that can score at a moment's notice. Throw in Keylor Navas, who is arguably the finest goaltender in this tournament, and you have a team that likely believes it can make a deep run.

*** EDIT: A previous version of this article stated that the US and Mexico were the only champions in Gold Cup history. Canada won the trophy in 2000. This article has been altered to reflect this data. The US and Mexico have been the only hosts of the tournament in its history; Canada will also host alongside the US in the 2015 edition.