Coming into this year, the hand-wringing about the state of the U.S. men's national soccer team was at an all-time high: Where was the heart, the spark, the fight the Americans were once known for? And could they find it in time for next year's FIFA World Cup?
Now, after the USMNT finished as runners-up in this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, the answers are starting to take shape. Although the U.S. fell 2-1 against Mexico in the final, the absence of some usual players allowed an opportunity for newer faces to make their case for inclusion on next summer's World Cup roster.
None stood out more than the 21-year-old midfielder Diego Luna, whose effort and spirit — along with three goals in six Gold Cup games — won him praise from fans, teammates and his coach. (His appearance stands out, too, with his short and stocky frame, bleach-blonde hair and neck-to-ankle tattoos.)
It has been a life-changing run for Luna, who before this run was best-known as the leading scorer on the MLS team Real Salt Lake.
And it all started with a broken nose.
Fifteen minutes into a January game, as Luna sprinted to defend against a Costa Rican player, he took an elbow to the face. Soon, blood was streaming out. On the sideline, a doctor set the broken nose back in place.
It would have been understandable for Luna to leave the game. It was a friendly, not a competitive match, and waiting for him at home was his day job with Real Salt Lake, whose preseason training schedule had already begun.
But for Luna, this was only his third appearance with the U.S. national team, and his first-ever start. He wasn't going to give up that opportunity so easily, he said later.
With a fresh jersey and a cotton swab stuffed up each nostril, Luna ran back onto the field. A minute later, Luna sent a beautiful pass upward between the Costa Rican defense to find his teammate Brian White for the first U.S. goal of the match.
His gutsy return to the match won high praise from USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, who afterward told the TNT broadcast crew, "[Luna] said, 'please, Coach, let me keep playing,'" Pochettino said. "He showed great character."
The experience was "life-changing," Luna told reporters in June. "It added an opportunity for me to come back to more camps and show the type of grit and the hunger that I have to play for and represent my country," he said.
Luna played in all eight games this summer, six of them as a starter. He scored three goals — two of them in a 2-1 semifinal victory over Guatemala — and assisted on two others. When he didn't score, his effort was still noticeable as he sprinted after loose balls and fearlessly challenged opponents.
Pochettino came on as coach last year, when U.S. Soccer fired former coach Gregg Berhalter after a disappointing early exit from the Copa América tournament.
The one-time Tottenham and Chelsea manager, Pochettino arrived with an impressive record of developing young talent. Doing that within the U.S. system was a priority for him, he said, as was reigniting a sense of pride and fight.
What Luna brings to the field is what Pochettino has been looking for, he told reporters last week.
"That attitude, hunger, desire, everything, and then, for sure, the talent … that is what we expect from our athletes," Pochettino said. "He is desperate to play for this shirt, for the national team, and that is why now he's in the level that he's showing."
The motivation comes from his upbringing, Luna says, especially his father, Alberto, who moved around the U.S. in pursuit of a career in soccer, first as a player, then as a coach.
"My parents have worked very hard for me when I was younger. Hard days for them and tough times," Luna told reporters before the Gold Cup. "The biggest thing at the top would be able to give back to my family whatever they've given to me."
"Diego is not fazed by anything," team captain Tim Ream, the 37-year-old defender, said. "He just has something about him, that chip on his shoulder." And, he added, a capability to "drag the rest of us into the fight."
Two other players who made their inclusion in 2026 feel inevitable were the midfielder Malik Tillman, a 23-year-old German-American dual national with the Dutch club PSV, and the defender Chris Richards, a 25-year-old Alabama native who plays for the Premier League club Crystal Palace.
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