Diego Luna is on a mission. For now though, the Real Salt Lake Homegrown Midfielder is enjoying the spring San Juan sun with his United States Youth National Teammates ahead of their opening FIFA U-20 World Cup matchup against Ecuador.
While Luna’s international journey begins in the western half of the country, his team’s goal lies in the east, in Buenos Aires, the spiritual and physical home of Argentintian soccer. The Argentine Football Association’s headquarters is located in the country’s capital and so is the 2023 final of FIFA U-20 World Cup which will be at the Estadio Unico Diego Armando Maradona in the Buenos Aires Province.
Argentina has won the tournament six times throughout the U-20 World Cups' 46 year history and the all time greats such as Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Diego Maradona have won the tournament's Golden Ball (Most Valuable Player) award.
For Luna however, this tournament is more than another milestone in a young career full of them or playing in the same prestigious tournament as former superstars, it’s an opportunity to showcase his talents on the world stage. During the U-20 World Cup qualifying cycle, Luna did exactly that. He led the CONCACAF qualifiers in assists with five, and was a central figure in the U.S. team that punched a ticket to Argentina and the U-20 World Cup.
“I think it was something super special and something I'm going to carry with me the rest of my life,” Luna said.
“I got the call up and then went to win the tournament and we qualified for the Olympics and U-20 World Cup. It was pretty cool doing something for a lot of people, not just for myself, but for the country.”
Last season, Luna departed for U-20 World Cup qualifying shortly after making the move from USL side El Paso Locomotive to Real Salt Lake. At El Paso, Luna established himself as one of USL’s best young players, and after coming to RSL, has continued to show why his future's so bright.
“Since joining RSL, I think on the field I've grown the most defensively,” Luna said. “That was something I struggled with coming into the MLS level and just in general. I think here at RSL, I took another step forward and learned how to defend in a different formation, but also learned how important it is.”
While playing with the U.S. Youth National Team, expect to see Luna playing a different role than he has with RSL. While Real Salt Lake fans have grown accustomed to seeing Luna come off the bench in a pivot or winger role for the Claret-and-Cobalt, the young American plays more of a number 10 role for the USYNT.
“With the U-20s I play in that 10 role that gets to roam and do what I do best, which is create goals and assist,” Luna said.
“Here at RSL I play more of a lower position or out wide which are very different positions, but also a completely different formation from the national team. We play a 4-4-2 here at RSL and with the national team, we play a 4-3-3. While I feel the position I play with the National Team in my main position, back at RSL, I’ve learned a lot about defending and learned what pivots need to do when I'm playing in that 10 role. So I think it's a good thing to learn about all the positions and formations while I’m progressing in my career.”
Before leaving for Argentina, the midfielder also recently shone for Real Monarchs, scoring twice in the Club’s 5-1 win against Portland Timbers 2. Now with his international teammates, he’ll look to do more of the same.
Luna and his teammates will take on Ecuador on Saturday at 12:00pm M.T. which is available to watch on Fox Sports and Telemundo.
“I’m excited to finally say I participated in the U-20 World Cup and then I’m excited to play in that first game,” Luna said. “I’m just looking forward to kicking off this tournament right.”
The mission of a tournament title in Buenos Aires begins tomorrow for Luna, but he’s hopeful this is just the beginning of a long international career.
“I always wanted to be with the US and play in all the top competitions that were available to me,” Luna said.
“I've reached the CONCACAF Qualifiers, the next step is to play in this World Cup and then the Olympics, and then from there we'll keep going up.”
