How USMNT Gold Cup hero Diego Luna quickly became a Mauricio Pochettino favorite after flirting with Mexico

It was not the first time of Diego Luna with the American national male team, but the abridged version of the History Arc begins with a elbow in the face. In the first half of the USMNT 3-0 victory over the Costa Rica last winter, an otherwise unshakable match during the annual January camp but often without consequences, Luna’s nose was broken, the blood rushing from his two nostrils. This inspired an excellent quote from head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who was only months after the start of work, but more importantly, it is the original story of the rapid rise in international darkness of the 21-year-old to a pillar of the national team.

“I was very surprised, because it was broken, you know?” Pochettino said in an post-match interview. “But I didn’t want to say anything [with] too much drama, because [it might] scare it. I said, “How do you feel?” He said, “Please coach, let me continue to play, because at least after half-time, I go out.” The doctor said: “Yeah, yeah, okay, you’re going.” And the first action, assistance and we are marking. I said, large balls. “”

Luna’s “Big Balls” are a refreshing addition to a USMNT which was systematically criticized for having been missing, quickly being tied with Pocsettino. In a short time, he equaled this mentality with results on the field which undoubtedly make him the most convincing rising star of the team. He now has three goals and four assists in 11 games for the national team, including the two goals during the 2-1 victory of the USMNT against Guatemala in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Wednesday, putting on the inner track to win a place on the alignment of the World Cup in less than a year.

As fast as Luna’s climb was this year, however, he did not exactly take the most anticipated path towards a significant place on the USMNT list.

Luna’s humble beginnings

This version of the USMNT, faults and all, is made up of some of the most talented players who have ever represented the team, largely because their development corresponds to those of the world’s elites. Many of them came by academies, whether in Europe, such as Christian Pulisic, or in the United States, such as Tyler Adams, rising the ranks before finally playing for European clubs. Luna did not follow this trajectory – although he had stays in the configuration of the earthquakes of San Jose and a residence of Barcelona in Arizona, her first professional contract was with the locomotive El Paso of the USL championship in 2021. A year later, he joined the Val Salt Lake of MLS and he has been there since. The difference in his curriculum vitae compared to his colleagues from the national team is not lost for him.

“Do not have my name be there and not play in Europe yet, things like that,” said Luna in March after her help in 2-1 defeat of the USMNT against Canada in the third place match of the League of Concacaf Nations. “I think that the route I borrowed is very different from many players, from the Academy to the USL via the MLS to not play and now start and honestly, I think it was a different route and I always have a chip on my shoulder.

“I think for me, it comes from a difficult environment and fighting for everything I have won. I think it is easy for me to say that I am looking for more, to work more and to support my family, for my son, for my mother, my father, all these types of things, so I think it’s just that and to be able to play for the crest. I don’t know what you need?

Luna was rarely in the mixture when the Pochettino predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, was in charge, and he did not make the U-23 team for the Olympic Games last summer, a decision that surprised a lot, including the Governor of UTAH, Spencer Cox. The player postponed the offers to stay on the peripherals of the USMNT – he rejected a chance to be a deputy in Paris and said that he was open to represent Mexico, although it looks like old news after winning Pochettino’s favor. Luna has always seemed to be a good adequacy for the Pochettino version of the USMNT based on the mentality alone, including those which are eligible to represent several teams.

“If we really believe that a player can help us and can improve us, of course, we will be 100% involved in this situation,” Pocsettino said at a press conference in November. “We don’t need to convince [players]. A player must want to play for the national team. I am Argentinian. I wanted to play for Argentina … It is not because of a contract. It is not because the possibility of playing in Europe. No, I was desperate to defend my badge, my flag. We must be careful. [There is] No need to convince a player. A player cannot be more important than the team or 300 million people. The player, if he is an American player, must be desperate, must show that we need him. Because, if not, we are a weak federation. “”

Luna banner year

Luna, originally from California, played for the United States on several levels of youth and obtained his first senior ceiling in January 2024, but only became a note player that to break his nose and followed this with a pass earlier this year.

This is a remarkable performance for any player, but not necessarily indicative of future success, but the opportunities continued to present themselves, first in March, when the entire senior national team – including players based in Europe – met in Los Angeles for the final of the League of Concacaf Nations. The tastes of Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna were in the mixture, but the injuries to other key players meant that Luna and others, like Patrick Agyemang, had the chance to join the regulars. While the regulars did not register much in a 1-0 defeat against Panama, then a 2-1 defeat against Canada, Luna helped Agyemang for the sole purpose of the USMNT that week. Luna was the only bright point in a dull series of matches, winning pocket poultry and her teammates.

“Diego Luna has played well,” Pocsettino said after Canada’s match. “Desire and [hunger] That he has shown is what we want and that does not mean anything against the rest of the people. This is just an example. When I said [him] Today, “you are going to play”, he was ready. “”

Pulisic agreed.

“He’s a great kid, guy,” said Pulisic. “He has a very brilliant future. You can see him today. He brings a little something different. He has a heart and I love the way he plays and as I said, he has a great future to come.”

The Gold Cup this summer, however, was an opportunity to discover if the form of Luna was a flash in the pan or the first signs of star quality. Between two avant-turn friendly matches and the six games that make up a Sunday’s final race, it was more than enough time to assess the Luna ceiling, especially on a list missing most USMNT pillars. The form of Luna, like the team as a whole, was a slow burn this summer, but the results began to speak for themselves. He has two goals and a assist in two direct elimination games, adding an ability to play in great moments to his skills. Luna was easily the star of the show on Wednesday with two first goals who bailed out a nervous defensive outing for the United States, although he is undoubtedly cool and confident on the other side of the field.

Even before a ball was launched in the Gold Cup final on Sunday in Houston and with 11 months to travel until the first USMNT match during a world cup on the floor at home, it is difficult to imagine a version of this team without Luna. Although winning the continental prize is the top priority of the USMNT in a few days, Luna’s rise alone has pocket experiences last month a success, at least creating the only thing that this version of the United States has sorely missed – a feeling of competition.