Real Salt Lake coach Pablo Mastroeni was in disbelief. The US roster for the World Cup would include neither his team’s star playmaker Diego Luna nor their head-turning youngster, Zavier Gozo. While the uncapped Gozo was a late long shot to make the squad, Luna seemed a near-lock given his importance to the national team throughout 2025.
Mastroeni knows the magnitude of these moments. As a player, he was the proverbial 23rd man in 2002, relaying that US coach Bruce Arena told him he’d made the roster as “a rah-rah guy.” Injuries and circumstance, plus his own approach, landed the midfielder in the lineup for the USMNT’s 3-2 win over Portugal to open group play as well as both of the team’s ensuing knockout matches.
