WHAT HAPPENED
Mauricio Pochettino praised emerging USMNT star Diego Luna, calling him a player who embodies the hunger, desire, and passion coaches look for. Luna has been a breakout performer at the Gold Cup, contributing to five goals in six matches. Pochettino noted it's hard to quantify Luna's impact but emphasized the importance of recognizing a player’s potential to grow and connect with both teammates and fans.
“Yeah it’s difficult to describe,” Pochettino said on the US Soccer podcast, recorded prior to the Gold Cup final. “I was a player and for many years now, I’m a coach and my coaching staff and we always want that capacity – not only knowledge of the game – but this talent you can smell the projection of the player, you can see how the player can evolve and that is how you project a player, and your ideas.
“ In the case of Diego, we saw the hunger, the desire, and the passion that makes a nice guy naughty when he’s playing. Crying when he cannot play…and that part of him we really pay attention to because we connect very well because we behave in this way. That connection I think makes us think that maybe we found a player that can translate all that we were trying to show to the players in the way that we expect.”
Luna scored three goals and had two assists in the U.S.'s six games at the Gold Cup, establishing himself as a player who has likely booked his ticket to next year's World Cup.
WHAT MAURICIO POCHETTINO SAID
Pochettino said this Gold Cup was about instilling the culture and playing style he wants, but also acknowledged it takes talent to execute his system.
“We talk about technique, tactic, and all of this type of thing that are important, but I think in a parallel way you need players with the desire and this type of attitude who are very competitive to ask them to translate the idea of the way we want to play. If we don’t have the desire, the energy, the attitude and everything but it’s about will," he said.
He added, “You can be the most intelligent guy, the most intelligent coaching staff but in the end, if you don’t have the players to translate your ideas onto the pitch, it’s impossible to win. We don’t win games; the players deserve the credit. Only we can help them to find the best way to perform.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Finding players who can quickly adapt to Pochettino's system and effectively communicate his tactical vision on the field represents a critical component of the team's development. Luna's emergence illustrates the ongoing evolution of the player pool and the coaching staff's willingness to identify contributors based on mentality and tactical intelligence alongside technical ability.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Luna will likely receive additional opportunities to demonstrate his value in upcoming training camps and international matches ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Before that, the USMNT will be back next in September for two international friendlies against South Korea and Japan on Sept. 6 and Sept. 9, respectively.