Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED
Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas assessed Diego Luna's rising profile with the USMNT, saying Luna ranks second only to Christian Pulisic when it comes to taking on defenders, controlling the ball and maintaining position.
The former USMNT defender’s praise comes after Luna’s impressive performance against Guatemala in the Gold Cup semifinal, where he scored a brace to lead the US to victory. Lalas noted that Luna might even surpass Pulisic defensively, highlighting the young midfielder's two-way capabilities.
“We're going to go right to Diego Luna,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “He scored two goals. If you don't know that, then where the hell have you been all day? He scored two goals, the United States won, the United States is going to another final. And this guy is a star that people want to not only recognize, but they want to celebrate... he second only to Christian Pulisic when it comes to taking players on.
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"So dribbling and forcing the issue with some urgency and more importantly with success, which we saw today with controlling the ball, maintaining possession in a crowd. And I would argue that he is better defensively than Christian Pulisic.”
Lalas says Luna has energized the USMNT fanbase, much needed after some recent controversies.
“I guess because it's Diego Luna and because he is had this incredible moment and everybody's talking about him," he said. "There are still a lot of people out there saying, ‘Hey, slow your roll. You don't want to get too excited’. No, I'm not going to apologize for getting excited. I'm not going to apologize for saying that this young man has energized me and has energized people out there. Do I think he's the next coming? Do I think that he is as good as Christian Pulisic?
“No. But I'm telling you right now the amount of people that have said 'I would rather have a Diego Luna who I know is going to fight, who I know is going to give everything, who I know wants to be there and who I can see cares more than other players that maybe have a better pedigree or maybe have a better CV.' "
WHAT MAURICE EDU SAID
Former national team star Maurice Edu said that, while Pulisic has taken on the bulk of the offensive responsibility for the USMNT in the past, Luna has shown he can help.
"The thing that I like the most about Luna is that it's like persistence, like he constantly, every time he gets the ball, he wants to get at defenders, he wants to take on defenders," he said. "He wants to be the difference-maker. And we need that... Christian, when he's in the team, bears the bulk of the responsibility to be the decisive player, to be the creative player, to create goals, to finish off goals.
“And now what we've seen through this Gold Cup, what we've seen through Diego Luna's performances and previous appearances, he's got that edge, he's got that fire... that difference-maker ability, right? We don't have a ton of those players in the pool.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
While still developing consistency at the international level, Luna's ability to beat defenders off the dribble provides a dimension the USMNT has often lacked beyond Pulisic.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Thanks to Diego Luna’s brace, the USMNT beat Guatemala 2-1 in the Gold Cup semifinal and will face Mexico in the final of the tournament on Sunday night in Houston.