Diego Luna, USMNT's Gold Cup hero, is ready to take on Mexico in final

ST. LOUIS -- Over an hr aft Diego Luna's 2 goals helped pb the U.S. men's nationalist squad into the Gold Cup last with Wednesday's 2-1 triumph implicit Guatemala, not overmuch had changed for the U.S. midfielder. Luna's tattoos inactive caught the eye. His blond, spiky hairsbreadth was inactive perfectly successful place. And his humility was intolerable to dislodge.

"Individually, of course, it comes with the excitement and radical praising you," Luna said successful the post-match mixed portion astir his performance. "But I deliberation the coolest happening is that we're into the final, and the squad held disconnected that [2-1] win, and that's each that matters."

Yet erstwhile it comes to Luna's clip with the USMNT, plentifulness has changed. From the outset of this Gold Cup, Luna has been 1 of the revelations for the U.S., 1 shorn of galore first-choice players owed to a operation of wounded and fatigue. His 2 assists successful the tournament-opening 5-0 triumph implicit Trinidad & Tobago got the U.S. disconnected to a near-perfect start. His extremity successful the quarterfinal triumph implicit Costa Rica proved critical, coming arsenic it did with the U.S. already a extremity down.

In Wednesday's semifinal, Luna took his play to a caller level -- and man, did the USMNT request his two-goal contribution.

With Guatemala playing successful its archetypal Gold Cup semifinal successful astir 30 years, fans of Los Chapines swarmed Energizer Stadium, leaving the U.S. taking connected the unexpected relation of visitant successful its ain country. The ratio of Guatemala fans to U.S. fans was astatine slightest 2-to-1, possibly higher.

It was a world this young U.S. roster had trouble wrapping its caput around, and required defender Tim Ream to springiness his squad a clang people successful Concacaf instrumentality dynamics. Fans from Central American countries are consenting to question large distances to spot their team, particularly with a spot successful a Gold Cup last connected the line.

"It's different. It tin beryllium strange, particularly for guys that it's their archetypal time," said Ream. "They're like, 'Wait a minute, we're successful the U.S. -- wherefore are we not having the bulk of our fans?' This is the mode it is. You person to clasp it. You person to bask it. You person to locomotion retired with a smile, and you person to instrumentality a heavy enactment and say, alright, this is what we're doing. And that's each determination is to it."

Luna took that beforehand to heart, describing the ambiance arsenic "awesome" and adding, "every crippled should beryllium similar this." And it was the 21-year-old who got the U.S. disconnected to a imagination start, alternating opportunism and accomplishment to people doubly successful the game's archetypal 15 minutes.

Luna was archetypal to pounce connected a rebound erstwhile Guatemala goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro spilled Luca de la Torre's changeable close successful beforehand of extremity successful the 4th minute. Eleven minutes later, Luna collected a cross-field walk from Malik Tillman, juked to his left, past right, and unleashed an unstoppable changeable for his second. He past raced to the country and celebrated by doing the Indonesian Boat Race Kid dance.

"I saw the feline coming successful from down me, but it was one-on-one and I enactment connected that determination and some sides I tin spell left, right," helium said. "So it's hard for a defender to spot going one-on-one with truthful overmuch abstraction connected each side."

As overmuch Luna's celebrations galvanized the pro-U.S. information of the crowd, it belied an interior calm. Luna has gotten this acold successful his vocation by trusting his instincts and engaging successful therapy to marque definite his caput is successful the close place. That was surely the lawsuit successful this match.

He said, "I deliberation it's conscionable astir having the intelligence space, the intelligence clearness of going into games conscionable free, enjoying what I'm doing, having fun, making definite my family's healthy, everybody's backmost location is taken attraction of and that allows maine to travel retired present and bash what I do."

While Luna's caput was serene, the aforesaid couldn't beryllium said for immoderate of his teammates, who showed plentifulness of nerves from astir the 30th infinitesimal on. The U.S. labored done overmuch of the remainder of the match, its aboriginal possession borderline eroding nether the dependable unit of a Guatemala onslaught that was galvanized by the partisan crowd. And erstwhile Olger Escobar pulled a extremity backmost for Guatemala successful the 80th minute, the stadium erupted with a roar that tested the USMNT's mettle.

The U.S. was near to past 10 nervy minutes of mean clip positive different 4 minutes of stoppage time. That they did, but not earlier goalkeeper Matt Freese -- who endured his stock of shaky moments successful the archetypal half, successful stark opposition to his punishment shoot-out heroics vs. Costa Rica -- delivered a spectacular, two-handed prevention to sphere the lead.

In the end, Ream counted it arsenic different acquisition learned for this side. The U.S. could surely person done a amended occupation of possessing the shot successful the 2nd half, particularly successful the past 15 minutes. The U.S. defender admitted there's much learning to beryllium done.

"I deliberation you can't understate what a partisan assemblage tin bash to young minds, guys who haven't experienced it," said Ream. "So conscionable a small spot much calmness, much ease, knowing that, okay, the crippled is fast, but the crippled tin dilatory down. You tin dilatory down by taking a breath. You tin dilatory down by taking a touch. You tin dilatory down by knowing and knowing wherever the feline is adjacent to you and knowing our positional play and wherever guys are going to popular up.

"It's conscionable that sometimes the unit comes: the fans consciousness similar they're connected apical of you, the sound is deafening and you benignant of suffer it a small bit. But listen: again, it's a learning experience. Will it hap arsenic rapidly the adjacent crippled arsenic it did contiguous aft the 2nd goal? Probably not. I deliberation guys volition recognize amended [and volition think] I really bash person much clip than I realized and much clip than I think."

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Pochettino: USMNT 'in control' successful semifinal win

Mauricio Pochettino reflects connected the USMNT's show aft securing a Gold Cup last spot with a 2-1 triumph vs. Guatemala.

They'll request to. Thanks to Mexico's 1-0 triumph implicit Honduras successful the different semifinal, the USMNT is present acceptable to quadrate disconnected against its aged rival successful the Gold Cup last connected Sunday. NRG Stadium's capableness is 72,220, not the 22,423 that Energizer Stadium holds, and you tin stake that those seats volition beryllium filled mostly with El Tri fans. The sound astatine Houston's indoor venue volition spell to 11.

Those factors haven't stopped erstwhile versions of the USMNT from coming retired connected top, but it's wide that this U.S. broadside volition request to rise its level. Aside from the blowout against T&T, the U.S. has been scraping by successful its different matches. It volition request to play its champion crippled of the tourney successful bid to prevail. But for now, the USMNT is basking successful reaching a last that not that agelong agone seemed beyond them.

"We are onto a last that I'd accidental a period ago, everyone fundamentally counted america retired of. Shame connected them," said Ream. "So for america it's like, yeah, great, amazing. It's knockout football, you find a mode to win, you find a mode to grind it out, you find a mode to bash it, and wherefore shouldn't we beryllium blessed to spell onto a last and play for a trophy?"

For his part, Luna is embracing that prospect. Being of Mexican-American heritage, helium erstwhile entertained the thought of playing for Mexico, earlier firmly committing to the U.S. earlier this year. Come Sunday, he'll beryllium a portion of this storied rivalry.

"It's going to beryllium awesome, right? I've ever dreamt of it increasing up, seeing the USA-Mexico games and to beryllium capable to play successful 1 would beryllium unreal," helium said. "So that'd beryllium an awesome experience. And past from there, it's conscionable a fight, a conflict that you're going to spell into and we'll spot what comes out."

It sounds similar the newest American shot leader is ready.