It was not Diego Luna’s first time with the U.S. men’s national team but the abridged version of the story arc begins with an elbow to the face. In the first half of the USMNT’s 3-0 win over Costa Rica last winter, an otherwise unmemorable match during the annual but frequently inconsequential January camp, Luna’s nose was broken, blood rushing out of both of his nostrils. It inspired a great quote out of head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who was just months into the job, but more importantly, it is the origin story of the 21-year-old’s quick rise from international obscurity to a national team mainstay.
“I was very surprised, because it was broke, you know?” Pochettino said in a post-match interview. “But I didn’t want to say nothing [with] too much drama, because [it might] scare him. I said, ‘How do you feel?’ He said, ‘Please coach, let me keep playing, because at least after the half, I go out.’ The doctor said, ‘Yeah, yeah, okay, you go in.’ And the first action, assist, and we score. I said, big balls.”
Luna’s “big balls” are a refreshing addition to a USMNT that has been routinely criticized for lacking competitive edge, endearing himself quickly with Pochettino. In a short span of time, he has matched that mentality with results on the pitch that arguably make him the team’s most compelling rising star. He now has three goals and four assists in 11 matches for the national team, including both goals in the USMNT’s 2-1 win over Guatemala in the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals on Wednesday, putting himself on the inside track to earn a spot on the World Cup roster in less than a year.
As quick as Luna’s rise has been this year, though, he has not exactly taken the most expected path to a meaningful spot on the USMNT’s roster.
Luna’s humble beginnings
This version of the USMNT, faults and all, is made up of some of the most talented players that have ever represented the team, in large part because their development matches those of the world’s elites. Many of them came up through academies, be they in Europe, like Christian Pulisic, or in the U.S., like Tyler Adams, rising up the ranks before eventually playing for European clubs. Luna has not followed that trajectory – though he had stints in the San Jose Earthquakes set-up and a Barcelona residency in Arizona, his first professional contract was with the USL Championship’s El Paso Locomotive in 2021. A year later, he joined MLS’ Real Salt Lake and he has been there since. The difference in his résumé compared to his national team colleagues is not lost on him.
“Not having my name be out there and not playing in Europe yet, stuff like that,” Luna said in March after his assist in the USMNT’s 2-1 loss to Canada in the Concacaf Nations League third-place match. “I think the route that I’ve taken is very different than a lot of players, from academy to USL to MLS to not playing and now starting and honestly, I think it’s been a different route and I’ve always got a chip on my shoulder.
“I think for me, it’s coming from a difficult background and having to fight for everything I’ve earned. I think it’s easy for me to say that I’m looking for more, working for more and to provide for my family, for my son, for my mom, dad, 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 other motivation you need, right? I think it’s the biggest step in soccer to play for your country.”
Luna was rarely in the mix when Pochettino’s predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, was in charge, nor did he make the U-23 squad for last summer’s Olympic Games, a decision that surprised many including Utah governor Spencer Cox. The player rebuffed offers to stay on the USMNT’s peripherals – he rejected a chance to be an alternate in Paris and said he was open to representing Mexico, though that seems like old news after winning Pochettino’s favor. Luna has always felt like a strong fit for Pochettino’s version of the USMNT based on mentality alone, including those who are eligible to represent multiple teams.
“If we really believe that a player can help us and can improve us, of course we are going to be 100 percent involved in that situation,” Pochettino said in a November press conference. “We don’t need to convince [players]. A player needs to want to play for the for the national team. I am Argentinian. I wanted to play for Argentina … it’s not because of a contract. It’s not because the possibility to play in Europe. No, I was desperate to defend my badge, my flag. We need to be careful. [There is] no need to convince a player. One player cannot be more important than the team or 300 million people. The player, if he’s an American player, needs to be desperate, needs to show that we need him. Because, if not, we are a weak federation.”
Luna’s banner year
Luna, a California native, has played for the U.S. at several youth levels and earned his first senior cap in January 2024, but did not become a player of note until he broke his nose and followed that up with an assist earlier this year.
It is a noteworthy showing for any player but not necessarily indicative of future success but opportunities kept coming his way, first in March when the full senior national team – including the Europe-based players – convened in Los Angeles for the Concacaf Nations League finals. The likes of Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna were in the mix but injuries to other key players meant Luna and others, like Patrick Agyemang, had a chance to join the regulars. While the regulars failed to register much in a 1-0 loss to Panama and then a 2-1 loss to Canada, Luna assisted Agyemang in the USMNT’s only goal that week. Luna was the lone bright spot of a drab series of matches, earning the praise of Pochettino and his teammates alike.
“Diego Luna played well,” Pochettino said after the Canada match. “The desire and the [hunger] that he showed is what we want and that is not to say nothing against the rest of the people. It’s only one example. When I told [him] today, ‘You are going to play,’ he was ready.”
Pulisic was in agreement.
“He’s an awesome kid, man,” Pulisic said. “He’s got a really bright future. You can see it today. He brings a little something different. He’s got heart and I love the way he plays and like I said, he’s got a big future ahead.”
This summer’s Gold Cup, though, was an opportunity to discover if Luna’s form was a flash in the pan or the first signs of star quality. Between two pre-tournament friendlies and the six matches that make up a run to Sunday’s final, that was more than enough time to assess Luna’s ceiling, especially on a roster missing most of the USMNT’s mainstays. Luna’s form, much like the team’s as a whole, was a slow burn this summer but the results began to speak for themselves. He has two goals and an assist in two knockout matches, adding an ability to perform in big moments to his skillset. Luna was easily the star of the show on Wednesday with two early goals that bailed out a nervy defensive outing for the U.S., though he was unmistakably cool and confident on the other end of the pitch.
Even before a ball is kicked in Sunday’s Gold Cup final in Houston and with 11 months to go until the USMNT’s first game at a World Cup on home soil, it is hard to envision a version of that team without Luna. Though winning the continental prize will be the USMNT’s top priority in a few days’ time, Luna’s rise alone makes Pochettino’s experiments of the last month a success, at the very least creating the one thing this version of the U.S. has sorely missed – a sense of competition.