His US menās national team had just survived an arduous test to book their place in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup final, outlasting a spirited Guatemala side roared on by legions of vibrant Chapines supporters on a muggy summer night at Energizer Park in St. Louis.
Yet in the aftermath of Wednesdayās sweaty 2-1 win, Mauricio Pochettinoās mind drifted back to winter and the annual January camp, where predominantly MLS-based USMNTers gather in a warm-weather locale to get a head start on the new year. The camp is not universally loved ā Clint Dempsey has admitted that he dreaded that call late in his career; Jurgen Klinsmann said he recommended U.S. Soccer mothball it altogether ā but āPochā is thanking his lucky stars for its existence.
Because thatās where he discovered Diego Luna, the man who now wears the US No. 10 shirt and scored the two goals that powered them into Sundayās final at NRG Stadium in Houston (7 pm ET | FOX, TUDN, Univision).
āHow important was January?ā mused Pochettino after the close-run victory. āTo discover a player like him, and to give him confidence ⦠Sometimes people say itās useless, but it's not useless. I think it's important, important for the national team, important for the team, very important for the country.ā
The Luna factor
Three days after scoring his first US goal to help the Yanks reach the semifinals, Luna was clutch again, snatching two well-taken goals in the opening 15 minutes to push Guatemala into a hole they could not climb out of, even with a ferocious second-half rally that fell just short.
As slick as his stepovers and sweetly-hit finish were on his second strike, the Real Salt Lake attackerās urgency was palpable in all phases of the game, the sort of fire thatās often been in short supply as the program lost its momentum over the past year or so.
āI think it's the grit, itās determination that we've been lacking, to be honest. It's fighting to the end, every ball, every moment,ā Luna told FOXās Jenny Taft after his latest star turn. āThe game's about moments, and I think this is where we showcase it. It's 90 minutes of hundreds of moments, and you got to execute on each one.
āIt's just finding the rhythm,ā he added of his surging form. āAnd I think being able to get the freedom from the coaching staff and from the team, that know that they're going to have my back, and the trust of the defensive responsibilities allows me to just do what I do on the ball.ā
Leader by example
Barely six months after he caught Pochās eye by playing through a broken nose to notch the game-winning assist in a 3-0 friendly win over Costa Rica, Luna is now the teamās spiritual center, a talisman who looks increasingly vital to any version of the USMNT, even one with its full complement of European-based stars available.
An unabashed romantic, in keeping with his roots at Newellās Old Boys, one of Argentine soccerās most cherished institutions, Pochettino offered warm praise for the passion and desire of both Guatemalaās players and supporters ā and pointed to Luna as cut from the same cloth.
āAn example is Diego, that is all that we expect from a player,ā said the coach. āOf course, Iām happy he scored goals. But is that attitude, that hunger, desire, everything ā and then for sure, the talent will appear.
āIf you go to play the sport only for fun, the rest of the opponents and the different countries, you play for survive, you play for food, you play for pride; you play for many things. Is not to go and enjoy and go home and laugh, and that's it, you know? And if the moment that we, now, this roster, we start to live in this way, I think we have big roof to improve. But I think Diego was a good example, that from January, how he is desperate to play for this shirt, for the national team, and that is why now he is in the level that he is showing.ā
Trophy on the line
Luna and many of his current teammates were relative outsiders just a short while ago, simply hoping for a chance to show they could contribute. Now theyāll have the opportunity to hoist a major trophy in US colors, against the winner of the Mexico-Honduras semifinal.
āI'm extremely grateful, and I think every single one of these players think about it the same way I do,ā āMoon Manā told Taft. āThis is the number-one dream that we've had as a kid, and we're going to fight for this to have as many chances to wear it as we can.ā