By OkayGoal 
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.”