AUSTIN, Texas – It’s been a year of career milestones and dreams made real for Diego Luna.

The Real Salt Lake starlet drew one of the biggest crowds at MLS All-Star media day on Monday afternoon, a flock of reporters and content creators clamoring to pick his brain in the wake of the Concacaf Gold Cup heroics that powered the US men’s national team’s run to the tournament final, earned him Best XI honors and further dialed up the hype around his prodigious talents.

Asked who his favorite player was growing up, Luna revealed it was Marco Reus – and it turns out that he got the chance to meet the Borussia Dortmund legend after RSL hosted Reus and the LA Galaxy earlier this season.

“I was blessed enough to, last time we played Galaxy, to meet with him outside the locker room behind closed doors, to tell him how much he's meant to me,” Luna explained. “It was awesome to watch him play as I grew up, and I got his jersey. So that's pretty cool to now check off the bucket list.”

Whirlwind rise

What the unassuming 21-year-old didn’t say out loud, but which speaks volumes about his explosive trajectory: It was Luna, not Reus, who grabbed the spotlight that night, bagging a brace to lead Salt Lake to a 2-0 victory over the defending MLS Cup champions.

After a long, winding and by now well-documented path to MLS, Luna’s had quite a few moments like that lately, from RSL exploits to his starring role in the USMNT's run to the Gold Cup final, contributing three goals and four assists and earning tournament Best XI honors. He looks quite likely to keep stacking them up, too, as he and a sizable contingent of MLS-based Yanks hunt for places in the FIFA 2026 World Cup.

“This past 50 days have been an amazing time for me,” he said. “I think the path that I took and the effort, and betting on myself, has really allowed me to showcase and to prove people wrong, to continue to work through everything that was needed, to move to the next level and get the next opportunity.

“Then that comes with performing on the field, but also with the right mindset. And thankfully, that's allowed me to be here and now enjoy this amazing week.”

World Cup aspirations

For the next 10 months or so, every time Luna and his fellow USMNT hopefuls step on any pitch, anywhere, represents an opportunity to catch head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s attention, and demonstrate why they deserve one of next summer’s prized roster spots.

“I've been with him a couple camps now, and I know what he wants from me as a player,” said Columbus Crew wingback Max Arfsten, another central contributor to the Gold Cup run, of Pochettino. “So it's just about, at the end of the day, performing and controlling what I can at the club level, and then going from there.

“It’s definitely a goal of mine to go to the World Cup,” added the Fresno, California product, who only made his USMNT debut in January but has already garnered 10 caps under Poch. “This ranks at the top of my list of dreams that I want to achieve, so yeah, I’m going to do what I can and just stay in the moment and try and perform with my club.”

Despite being based in Europe and accruing most of his managerial experience there, Pochettino has made abundantly clear that he views MLS excellence as an entry point to the national team, and values what the domestic-based sector of his player pool has brought to the program.

“I'm coming also from a different country, and when I arrive here, analyze the league, know better the league, know better the players, there's a lot of talent here,” said All-Star coach Nico Estévez, a USMNT assistant under both Gregg Berhalter and, briefly, Pochettino before taking the helm at Austin FC last autumn. “You can ask any player that is from other countries and played in big leagues – the league is really competitive; every single year it is getting more competitive.

“Then, any player that has something different, like Diego has done here, it stands out. He can be part of the national team. And I think he’s a great example for any player that plays in this league, that if you do well, if you do the right things, and then you shine here, you can change your career.”

Game-changing potential

Luna’s leap onto the national stage began in earnest when Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy made him an MLS All-Star almost exactly one year ago, the prelude to him winning the 2024 MLS Young Player of the Year award. A call into USMNT January camp followed, where he memorably made a claim for a much bigger role under Pochettino by shaking off a broken nose to play the game-winning assist in a friendly win over Costa Rica, prompting the playful honorific of ‘big balls’ from Pochettino.

“Like Mauricio saw in him, he's a different player than the ones that are usually in the pool, you know?” said Estevez. “He's a player that has such a creativity and can change a game. And all these players like this always have this value, and also the passion and the heart that he shows in every game, and the pride that he shows, I think, is what you look for in a national team player.”

The speed with which Luna, Arfsten and other standouts like Patrick Agyemang, Brian White and Orlando City’s young fullback Alex Freeman have been promoted by the USMNT boss offers a beacon of hope for all, not just in terms of making the squad, but even earning substantial minutes.

“The fact that [Pochettino] has so much faith in me, and he has so much faith in these players, is [motivation] to support his faith and be able to show him that I deserve to be here,” Freeman, an All-Star at just 20 years of age, said on Monday. “I'm going to do that if I'm called in again, or if I'm in MLS playing more games – it's just be able to keep working and working and try to get his credibility and earn his respect.”

The door is open.

“The next few months is really putting in the extra work and making myself the best that I can be, to be able to have a chance for the World Cup roster,” said Luna. “Continuing to do well at club and continuing to better myself to get the best opportunity to have for the World Cup.”