Diego Luna wasn’t pegged to be among the top U.S. men’s national team goalscorers at the CONCACAF Gold Cup but the Real Salt Lake midfielder has certainly defied the odds in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Luna’s first international brace sparked the USMNT past Guatemala 2-1 in semifinal play, sending the Americans to their first tournament final since 2021. After registering three contributions in his first four Gold Cup appearances, Luna added to those totals by delivering a pair of first-half goals in St. Louis on Wednesday night.
Bringing a nonstop work rate and a willingness to create offensive opportunities, Luna has quickly become one of the USMNT’s leading weapons during the 2025 schedule. The 21-year-old has certainly impressed Pochettino and his staff this summer, a trend the Argentine hopes continues against Mexico in the Gold Cup Final and the later windows this fall.
“[His] attitude, hunger, desire, everything, and then for sure, the talent will appear. But that is what we expect from our athletes, that’s what we want,” Pochettino said postmatch about Luna.
“Diego was a good example from January [camp], how he is desperate to play for this shirt, for the national team, and that is why now he’s in the level that he showed,” he added.
Luna is one of several young players that have helped the USMNT rebound from a pair of friendly defeats in June by winning five-straight Gold Cup matches. From Trinidad & Tobago to Costa Rica to Saudi Arabia, each match has posed a new challenge for the USMNT, but with Luna’s help, the program has answered the call on each occasion.
However, Sunday’s upcoming showdown with Mexico will be the USMNT’s toughest challenge yet. It will rekindle a rivalry that squared off in Gold Cup Finals of 2019 and 2021, which have been split by two of CONCACAF’s leading programs.
Luna credited the squad’s fight to get past a pesky Guatemalan side on Wednesday and believes they will need to show more if they want to bring home a first trophy of the Pochettino-era.
“It’s the grit, it’s the determination that we’ve been lacking,” Luna said postmatch on FOX about what the USMNT did to reach the final. “To be honest, it’s fighting to the end. Every ball, every moment. The game’s about moments, and I think this is where we showcase it.”
Our “A” squad has become very predictable in attack, especially a guy like Weah. Aside from Pulisic, no one is a top 3 attacker on their squad, and most are in/out of the lineup at good teams. That translates to playing too scared to make a mistake, imo.
Luna, while not as athletic at Weah or technically sound as Pulisic, brings unpredictability with grit. Hopefully it either rubs off or opens up the game for others…
it’s odd but we have been cavalier in the back — where it costs you quickly — and tentative up front — where it wins you games and mistakes are lower risk. it’s backwards. also not a lot of actual running off the ball. we’re still building from the back but we are being more aggressive in the attack. i also think the 42121 gives space for the striker to run and be led into space, where the flat 433 hems the striker in with wings at the same line.
also, for a team that plays keepaway and is generally tentative, we can be fairly impatient and sloppy and whack crosses in all day.
last, this run has been enjoyable but the question is going to be how does the best of this bunch integrate with the regulars. do some of these guys start? do they pivot to these tactics? i thought they opened up a little in NL 2021 — reyna’s big emergence — and then reverted back to berhalter ball as soon as we hit WCQ that fall, and benched reyna.
i’d like to see reyna playing but what luna may offer is we can send him after defenses similarly and that “look” isn’t depending on reyna being in good graces. this team sucks when it turns into a crossing team. we don’t get the service. and we haven’t landed on a mcbride type to head them.
it’s too much talent for us to suck like we have, but you need to land on a tactical concept that fits the talent. i don’t think we’re skilled or patient enough to pass teams to death. we’re not really a crossing team. so they need another schtick that fits the roster.
I don’t remember what Reyna brought. Haven’t seen a thing for several years now. Neither has anyone else. The image in my mind of Pulisic is sitting on the ground with both arms raised, pleading with a referee for a foul. Not sure how a mid fielder can get away with only intermittent defensive effort. Luna seems to bring all he’s got, every time. Wonder what happened to Cade Cowell, who seemed to have similar characteristics.
So Berhalter ball wasn’t what we saw in the 2021 NL, and we played good football.in the 2022 WC, so.Im confused by your premise. Anyway, I agree with you that this team has been enjoyable to watch, and not because they’ve been playing free flowing soccer, but more so because you see the intent, fire, passion and grit that is missing from our regulars. It’ll be interesting to see who Poch sticks with from this group going forward, and who he potentially leaves out from our more established group. I think he got pissed off that so many of them wanted to take this summer off, and that past result via their play left a lot to be desired, so there will be some surprises imo
I’d like to see Gio slide into Luca’s current role. Where defense’s have been left with taking away the direct ball to Luna or leaving Luca with tons of space. Gio would have to be willing to work though when he doesn’t have the ball. He used to do that, since his injuries he has been less willing. But getting Gio with the ball, between the lines puts a lot of pressure on a backline with Luna, Pulisic, or Tillman running at them.
just make him the Captain with Adams
who cares where he plays? he’s already deserving of and earned first XI, whoever is in camp over the next year. actions speak, and Diego speaks very eloquently
he’s Frankie reincarnate (or sooooooo many others from back in the day who played for relative peanuts btw) in the uni with more skill
i want someone besides adams as captain. adams’ seeming role is more doing the coach’s bidding. when the hammer comes down on someone, adams is always parroting the coach. we need someone who speaks for the players.
to me one reason you start getting a lot of reds is feeling that neither your captain nor your coach nor your teammates are fighting for you. with refs. with opposing players who foul your teammates. you need your coach and captain in the ref’s ear when your get messed over. you need teammates giving a little payback for bad fouls. if you don’t get that help maybe you do your own “self help” — dest’s flipout, weah’s elbow. to me players who feel protected don’t flip out that bad.
also, i know he’s nursing a foot problem but adams has not been the same dominant player.
Funny, the article is about Luna, but most of the comments are about Weah and Musah. I compared Luna to Dempsey because of several things. Luna’s second goal was just like many that Dempsey scored for Fulham. Dempsey spent most of his time on the left wing and scored most of his goals by cutting right along the top of the box and scoring either near or far post depending on the goalie. Also, Dempsey and Luna show an incredible desire. As they say in Spanish, ganas. That and incredibly hard work are what made Dempsey. I remember when Dempsey was once being interviewed after a MOTM performance and one of his teammates, Danny Murphy, broke in to say that Dempsey deserved all the praise because he was always putting in extra hard work, staying after others would leave the practice pitch. Also, Luna is about the same age as Dempsey was when he went to Fulham. I wish all our national team players had the work rate and intensity that Luna has.
Clint was about to turn 24 when he transferred to Fulham. Diego is about to turn 22.
——————-
As for why did the discussion turn to Weah. If Diego is to start he’ll need to beat out either Tillman or Weah and maybe both. And as both are possible transfer candidates in the next month that added to discussion.
———————
Other than IV suggesting RSL didn’t rate him a month ago and were ready to move on from him because he only had 7g by mid-May (half the teams goals) but no assists, Diego is pretty loved here on SBI. The casual fan might not know who he is but there was a pretty large outcry when he was left off the Olympics. Although I’m guessing quite a few casuals learned who he was after the broken nose.
I don’t know if Luna will be a starter at the WC (nor am I necessarily pushing that since he is still only at RSL), but on the roster I would put him ahead of Gio Reyna, a similar type of player, who has been mostly collecting splinters on the bench, but is still kind of a fan favorite. I don’t see Luna as the same type of player as Weah, but he is similar to Musah except Luna seems like much more of an attacker.
Gary: what we saw in March against Canada was
————Agyemang———
Tim—Puli—Luna— Max
———-Wes——-Tyler—
—-McK-CCV-Scally
When they subbed Tessmann and Musah replaced Ty and Wes and Reyna replaced Christian.
Luna has always been one of the dual 10s, in March, Jan, and now GC. Musah has never played there under Poch. In the dual 10 spot he’s played Pulisic, Wes, Luna, Matko, Gutierrez, Reyna, Tillman, and the Aaronsons. I think we can rule out Miljevic, Pax and Brendo, and Gutierrez. That leaves Pulisic, Weah, Tillman, Luna, and Reyna because Wes just shifts into the role Luca has been playing deeper in MF. I agree Gio is last right now, but the probable addition of Dest into a wide advanced position adds another layer. Having too many productive attackers is rarely a problem so I’d rather have too many than not enough.
Most frustrating player this GC?
For me it’s Paxten. Like how lost must he be that he can’t get minutes. He’s been a starter in the Netherlands the last season and a half, how is he not competent enough to get 15-20 minutes a game.
——————-
Any Spurs or Chelsea fans, is this Poch’s typical substitution pattern?
JR
Who does Paxton replace if he comes on?
Luna?
Max?
I see no clear path for him in this group at this time.
Luca
That’s were he played for Utrecht.
Or Berhalter, or McGlynn
Weah is one of those frustrating players as his speed is able to blow by people when going vertical in transition. But so many times he gets stuck in a corner trying to do the dancing feet isolation play I see modern day wingers do. Just attack with speed and go at it. Probably a lower tier team would be smart so he can play regularly.
i will be curious how the full team integrates. i feel like we’ve been doing like a 433 in general. they talked about pinched wingers back then, then actually played more like chalk wingers — which arguably sends the wings and wingbacks into the same exact channel, and hems in the striker from running to space wide.
this has been more like a 42121. with the wings more pinched in and further back, maybe even with the 10. and they either go to goal or send the striker behind the backs.
your needs for a chalk wing in 433 or a second line guy in a 42121 are different. you could use a mid who is aggressive to create for self or the striker. you could use a wing who likes to invert. there is less use for a speedy chalk winger. so pulisic and reyna fit, weah less so.
unless he shifts to striker. he could maybe play striker but we have a lot there if everyone stays well. i’d prefer weah to white or sargent, though.
but weah can also be used as a RB, though, and we’re struggling to find some. dest we’ll see what he looks like. freeman keeps glitching. harriel sucks. scally’s ok but sometimes beat, people have almost forgot about cannon or moore.
but yeah, i expect some lineup carnage from this tournament.
Poch has mostly used one wide attacker then two dual tens (inverted wingers if you prefer) and one FB in his attacking line, just behind the striker. Against Guatemala we were doing some different things with Adams or Berhalter dropping back in line with the CBs and then pushing both FBs up, then we set both FBs deep. There’s still plenty of opportunities for Weah as a wide attacker or off the bench in a similar second striker role that Downs has been doing.
I agree. While I want to succes and he soes provide some good things offensively if I take ky rose tinted glasses off Weah really hasn’t been that good anywhere. But I think he is a player that could succeed dropping down a bit to a lower tiered team. His stats don’t scream an offensive dynamo for either club nor country.
In roughly 950 minutes as a winger Tim had 5g 2a this season. A goal contribution every 135 minutes. Pulisic had a goal contribution every 129 minutes. His 7g 5a may not sound like much but he’s never played in a GC, Camp Cupcake, and also missed NL qualifiers against Cuba and Grenada. His totals in 2900 minutes for the NT is equivalent to a club season, if your winger had 7g 5a in a season, you probably wouldn’t be unhappy.
weah and reyna both have generally been good “per ______” guys. even when weah was subbing in for celtic or PSG, things happen. this is when the club snobs should step in and say “but this is PSG” or “dortmund,” but they don’t. off the bench for that good a club in that good a league is no slouch, and the rate hints they are good and productive but just in an awkward situation.
my deal is more does weah fit where the scheme is heading, and if so, where. we need to get away from decontextualized numbers and look at skill sets. if we continue to play this way, weah does not do what luna and tillman are doing. he is not an interior mid who dribbles players and goes to goal. he’s a speed in space and send a cross in guy. or he’s a striker. he would replace freeman RB or maybe compete with agyemang at 9.
i don’t think the fanboys help when they keep pimping retreads on stats arguments. unless their position or scheme changes, the player is what they are.
example — could someone like sargent play the second line? i think he’s slow and gawky for striker. but he might be technical for a pinched wing slot, and he can combine.
This is not that hard. Here was the lineup against Jamaica in Nov.
On the graphic a 4-2–3-1
Pepi
Weah-CP-Mus
Tess-Wes
Jedi-Ream-McK-Joe
Once we had the ball it shifted (3-2-4-1)
Pepi
Weah-CP-Wes-Mus
Jedi-Tess
Ream-McK-Joe
If we lost the ball (4-4-2)
Pepi-CP
Weah-Tess-Wes-Mus
Jedi-Ream-McK-Joe
With this GC group
Pregame Graphic (4-2-3-1)
Agye
Luna-Till-Berhalter
Luca-Tyler
Max-Ream-Rich-Free
In possession (3-2-4-1)
Agye
Max-Luna-Till-Berhalter
Luca-Tyler
Ream-Rich-Free
We’ve also dropped Tyler with the CBs and pushed Freeman up and brought Seb in next to Luca.
In defense
Agye-Till
Luna-Luca-Ty-Seb
Max-Ream-Rich-Free
Sometimes Luna up and Malik in the midfield line.
Luna to PSV would make a whole lot of sense. PSV has lost Lang, and is going to lose Tillman. Definitely both positions that Luna can play.
– Sounds like Club America is in on Diego, not sure that’s much of a career step.
– From what I’ve seen the PSV talk is just fans hoping not anything substantial.
It actually is a fair step up. America is usually around a $30M club annually in terms of payroll…RSL is down near the cellar of MLS at about $13M a year, actually 28th out of 30 teams in total salary and almost dead-even with Philadelphia in the 29th spot.
In an MLS where the average salary is around $19M, that’s noteworthy.
I’d still love to see him get Tillman’s old spot at PSV, though. If Ernie Stewart isn’t thinking about it I question his eyesight, especially considering Luna’s literally been playing right alongside Tillman all tournament and that’s as good an apples-to-apples comparison as soccer offers, ever. In Moneyball terms he’s an ultimate example of negative cognitive bias; give Luna a traditional soccer body and take away the tats and he’d have been in Europe long since. I personally think PSV would turn right around and sell Luna in two years, minimum, and for 3-4 times what they paid for him. I don’t think Luna will take any longer building a cult following in Europe than he has with the USMNT…mostly because he really is that good and always has been.
Q: Club America is a better team because they spend more money, but the quality of the league is very similar because once you get past Monterrey, CA, or Tigers it’s MLS level spending. Also Club America isn’t selling guys on to top leagues it’s Argentina, Saudi, LaLiga2 over the last five years. If you go to Ajax or PSV and do well you’re going to a top level club in your next move.
-Current rumors are Weah to ManU as part of a Jaedon Sancho deal or Marseille.
-Lyon think they will win their appeal and both Turner and Tessmann will be there. I still think that’s optimistic. Plus they are going to have basically none of their top players left.
This is how some at Old Trafford feel about the 3-player trade (including Weah) for Jadon Sancho
1) Douglas Luiz – SIGN
The Brazilian was a key figure in Aston Villa’s midfield prior to his move to Juventus last year.
Unfortunately, Luiz has not managed to settle in Italy, and he has already been offered to United once this summer (The Bianconeri spent €50m to bring him to Turin).
2) Dusan Vlahovic – SNUB
Injuries and inconsistent performances mean that his club are now unwilling to continue paying his wages, which are the highest of any player in Serie A.
Unless Vlahovic is available on the cheap and he is willing to lower his salary demands, this deal is a non-starter.
3) 3) Timothy Weah – SNUB
The winger’s scoring record is pretty bad. He has found the back of the net just 7 times in 78 appearances for Juventus.
Weah is capable of playing as a wingback, which would make him a good utility player, but you wouldn’t say he would be an upgrade on what Amorim already has.
There is an argument for saying that the Red Devils would be swapping Sancho for someone who doesn’t have the same level of quality
Out of the three, Weah is the one that the Manchester club should steer clear of, no matter the circumstances.”
Yeah, that’s a no go on that deal…….unless they plan to sell him off somewhere else for a profit
I agree. While I want to succes and he soes provide some good things offensively if I take ky rose tinted glasses off Weah really hasn’t been that good anywhere. But I think he is a player that could succeed dropping down a bit to a lower tiered team. His stats don’t scream an offensive dynamo for either club nor country.
Bizzy: I don’t follow ManU really at all. I do think the thing about Tim is if you just look at his stats he doesn’t jump out at you, but when you watch him you see all the things he does. I’m not sure if ManU is even interested the stories seem to be Juve wants Sancho and are trying to get rid of A, B, and/or C, but nothing really about interest from ManU organization in those guys. Honestly, I think it’s kind of funny they don’t see him as an upgrade at WB. Mazraoui has 1g the last three seasons and they’re knocking Tim’s 6, Mazraoui and Dorgu on the other side don’t assist either. If you look at his numbers as a winger he was better per minute than Sancho. Actually he was better than Conceicao and Gonzalez at Juve too for that matter. His dad played briefly at Marseille so that would make a good story. DeZerbi has a good reputation for his attack minded possession system and with CL they’ll need a lot of depth.
Hmmm…. I fully expected Luna to be one of the US leading goal scorers at this tournament. Hopefully he scores against Mexico. Watching Mexico CB’s struggle with pace I expect the US try to exploit that with Luna and Agye.
Musah out, Luna in the WC Starting XI.
Based on current form I’d say Musah on the bubble for the final 26. Much like Cardoso, his latest performances have not been great, and unlike Jonny, neither is his club form.
Luna’s got the fire in his belly reminiscent of the 2002 and 2010 teams and I’d be intrigued to see him on the field with CP10, Adams and McKennie.
They don’t play the same position. It’s more like Brendo out Luna in. If Diego starts that means one of Weah, Tillman, or Pulisic don’t.
If Weah doesnt figure out his situation, he may be a super sub come the World Cup. Either Luna or Pulisic at RW. With Dest overlapping.
I’d take Weah out and use him as a super-sub and situational starter myself. Luna’s significantly better in the half spaces than Timo is, and in Poch’s system you get your width out of the outside backs and I was never a fan of the way Berhalter had Jedi and Dest running up Pulisic and Weah’s asses anyway. And a fresh Timo would be an absolute nightmare to deal with for a tired defense, especially one laboring in 90-degree summertime heat in the World Cup next year.
Q: Even if you haven’t noticed McGlynn or Berhalter holding down the RW spot. Poch hasn’t been using both backs for width just one. Against Jamaica at home he used neither FB for width. You still have Pulisic, Tillman, and Luna to play in those two interior attacker spots.