Diego Luna has been the talk of the United States national team supporters the past week or so. And for good reason. While nobody had the Real Salt Lake-attached player as being one of the highlights of the States’ Gold Cup campaign prior to its start, he has been an absolute revelation, banging in three goals and helping boost the USMNT into the Gold Cup final against rival Mexico on Sunday.
Despite once being on the fringes of the national pool and often being passed over when it came to call-ups, the Mexican-American dual-national Luna endeared himself to current USMNT gaffer Mauricio Pochettino after continuing to play despite having his nose broken during a friendly against Costa Rica back in January. In that game, he’d go on to assist one of the goals in the US’s 3-0 win over Los Ticos. It was a performance that showed grit and determination, something the United States — despite being in the midst of a golden generation — hasn’t shown too often against any opponent not named Mexico, who, in all honesty, are probably worse than they’ve been in a long time. And now, Luna has taken that grit into the Gold Cup. And, along with goalkeeper Matt Freese, Luna is now being looked at as a viable option when it comes to World Cup call-ups next summer.
