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Diego Luna has a distraction this weekend, but you may forgive him for not being fully focused on Real Salt Lake’s trip to Minnesota United. The 22-year-old attacker will be hoping for the call, the text or the social media post that confirms he’s on the U.S. national team roster for the 2026 World Cup.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino will publicly reveal his 26-man list at an event on Tuesday, May 26 in New York City, though players will be notified before then. It could be a life-changing moment for Luna and many of his teammates, who hope to help take the U.S. to a superb finish at the only World Cup they’ll play on home soil in their careers.
While Luna was a key piece of Pochettino’s 2025 Gold Cup runners-up and returned to the U.S. in fall friendlies, scoring against Uruguay, his place on the roster is hardly set in stone. For now, Luna is trying to stay positive and take pride in the fact that he’s squarely in the picture.
“It's a lot of feelings, a lot of emotions, a lot of excitement, of nerves, butterflies and stuff like that, but it's kind of the moment you kind of live for and something we dream about,” Luna told USA TODAY Sports this week. “Being (on) this bubble is already a blessing, so now it’s just waiting on when the day comes, when that roster announcement comes out.”
Luna earned plaudits from Pochettino after a moment that Luna has said changed his life. An elbow to the face in the first half of a friendly against Costa Rica in January 2025 broke his nose, but he insisted he stay in the match. He set up the opening goal of a 3-0 win, getting a huge level of respect from the manager in the process.
That, plus consistent play and daily work to improve his game, has him dreaming of what it would feel like to get that call that he’s included in the squad.
“It’s a thing that words can’t explain. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and a feeling that even thinking about it gives me the butterflies, gives me these weird feelings,” Luna said. “Hopefully, I've done enough to make this roster and we can have a bunch of celebrating parties and good vibes.”
Family get-togethers are nothing new for Luna, who grew up heavily influenced by his siblings in a Mexican-American household. With two parents from the western Mexico State of Michoacán, Luna’s family would get together to watch games. Most would be supporting El Tri, while Luna was drawn to the Stars and Stripes from a young age.
“Back in the day, it was watching the Clásico, my family wearing all Mexico jerseys and I’d be wearing a USA jersey because it was just like that, it was just that I was more a USA fan as a little kid.
“Playing for the U.S. was a dream. It was super fun having family gatherings with all the family there. I was kind of crying and screaming when Mexico would score, my family would be cheering. It was good banter and good times back in the day. That’s who my family is, a soccer family.”
Soccer took Luna far from his family at a young age as he moved from Northern California to central Arizona to join the Barcelona residency academy when he was 15. Two years later, he signed with the El Paso Locomotive in USL Championship before making the move to Real Salt Lake in 2022.
Now, with a young son of his own, Luna has shifted his view a bit on the sport, with soccer becoming something he does to something he uses to provide for his family. That may soon lead to an even bigger move than one between western U.S. states, as he chases another childhood dream of playing abroad.
“Europe for sure is on my radar and something I’ve always wanted to do as a kid, that you go try in Europe and test myself in Europe," he said. "I think that’s definitely something I want to do. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what team it is. We’ll see when it happens, but when that opportunity comes, I would like to do that and test myself.”
First, though, it's this weekend's game against Minnesota United. And, he hopes, a chance to put on that U.S. jersey on the biggest stage just like he dreamed of when sitting in front of the TV all those years ago.
Luna’s match against Minnesota United can be seen on Apple TV, as can every other MLS match during the season.
“It’s cool. It’s very easy to work. It makes it easy for anybody to, especially my parents are not the best tech heads, so I think they made it very easy to watch the games,” Luna said.
Apple also rolled out an expansion to its Apple Sports App, growing its soccer coverage and creating a World Cup experience allowing fans to track Luna and the rest of the U.S. national team and the other 47 teams in this summer’s tournament.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diego Luna facing nervous USMNT roster wait, but says being on bubble 'already a blessing'
Continue reading...
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino will publicly reveal his 26-man list at an event on Tuesday, May 26 in New York City, though players will be notified before then. It could be a life-changing moment for Luna and many of his teammates, who hope to help take the U.S. to a superb finish at the only World Cup they’ll play on home soil in their careers.
While Luna was a key piece of Pochettino’s 2025 Gold Cup runners-up and returned to the U.S. in fall friendlies, scoring against Uruguay, his place on the roster is hardly set in stone. For now, Luna is trying to stay positive and take pride in the fact that he’s squarely in the picture.
Will Diego Luna make the 2026 USMNT roster?
“It's a lot of feelings, a lot of emotions, a lot of excitement, of nerves, butterflies and stuff like that, but it's kind of the moment you kind of live for and something we dream about,” Luna told USA TODAY Sports this week. “Being (on) this bubble is already a blessing, so now it’s just waiting on when the day comes, when that roster announcement comes out.”
Luna earned plaudits from Pochettino after a moment that Luna has said changed his life. An elbow to the face in the first half of a friendly against Costa Rica in January 2025 broke his nose, but he insisted he stay in the match. He set up the opening goal of a 3-0 win, getting a huge level of respect from the manager in the process.
That, plus consistent play and daily work to improve his game, has him dreaming of what it would feel like to get that call that he’s included in the squad.
“It’s a thing that words can’t explain. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and a feeling that even thinking about it gives me the butterflies, gives me these weird feelings,” Luna said. “Hopefully, I've done enough to make this roster and we can have a bunch of celebrating parties and good vibes.”
Why did Diego Luna root for the U.S. over Mexico?
Family get-togethers are nothing new for Luna, who grew up heavily influenced by his siblings in a Mexican-American household. With two parents from the western Mexico State of Michoacán, Luna’s family would get together to watch games. Most would be supporting El Tri, while Luna was drawn to the Stars and Stripes from a young age.
“Back in the day, it was watching the Clásico, my family wearing all Mexico jerseys and I’d be wearing a USA jersey because it was just like that, it was just that I was more a USA fan as a little kid.
“Playing for the U.S. was a dream. It was super fun having family gatherings with all the family there. I was kind of crying and screaming when Mexico would score, my family would be cheering. It was good banter and good times back in the day. That’s who my family is, a soccer family.”
Soccer took Luna far from his family at a young age as he moved from Northern California to central Arizona to join the Barcelona residency academy when he was 15. Two years later, he signed with the El Paso Locomotive in USL Championship before making the move to Real Salt Lake in 2022.
Now, with a young son of his own, Luna has shifted his view a bit on the sport, with soccer becoming something he does to something he uses to provide for his family. That may soon lead to an even bigger move than one between western U.S. states, as he chases another childhood dream of playing abroad.
“Europe for sure is on my radar and something I’ve always wanted to do as a kid, that you go try in Europe and test myself in Europe," he said. "I think that’s definitely something I want to do. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what team it is. We’ll see when it happens, but when that opportunity comes, I would like to do that and test myself.”
First, though, it's this weekend's game against Minnesota United. And, he hopes, a chance to put on that U.S. jersey on the biggest stage just like he dreamed of when sitting in front of the TV all those years ago.
Luna’s match against Minnesota United can be seen on Apple TV, as can every other MLS match during the season.
“It’s cool. It’s very easy to work. It makes it easy for anybody to, especially my parents are not the best tech heads, so I think they made it very easy to watch the games,” Luna said.
Apple also rolled out an expansion to its Apple Sports App, growing its soccer coverage and creating a World Cup experience allowing fans to track Luna and the rest of the U.S. national team and the other 47 teams in this summer’s tournament.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diego Luna facing nervous USMNT roster wait, but says being on bubble 'already a blessing'
Continue reading...
