Diego Luna Brace Powers USMNT Into Gold Cup Final Past Guatemala

After scoring his first international goal in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals, Real Salt Lake star Diego Luna led the USMNT past Guatemala in the semifinals.

Luna scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the match.

🚨 GOLD CUP FINAL BOUND! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/LUJHzvrUHG

— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) July 3, 2025

Diego Luna Leads USMNT To Gold Cup Final

A strong start is massively important, and Luna helped deliver just that on Wednesday.

In the 4th minute, after Luca de la Torre’s attempt was batted away in front of the net, Luna barreled in to clean up the miss.

Luca with a rip. Luna with the finish.

A STATEMENT START! pic.twitter.com/fHWavAjd9u

— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) July 2, 2025

About ten minutes later, he did it again.

Malik Tillman sent a cross to Luna to set him up on the left side of the pitch. He pushed in closer and then juked to his right before unloading a shot that painted the left crossbar.

 

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From there, the U.S. just had to hold onto its lead.

Guatemala didnt make it easy, they ended the match with 20 attempts (five on goal). They weren’t able to break through until the 80th minute when Olger Escobar buried a shot in the bottom right corner to make it 2-1.

The U.S. shut the water off to close regulation. In the 92nd minute, José Morales nearly scored an equalizer but Matt Freese was able to make the save in the bottom left corner.

With the USMNT victory, the program makes its 13th Gold Cup final. Thye will play Mexico at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Sunday, July 6.

Diego Luna With The USMNT

Following an impressive U.S. youth career, Luna made his senior debut in January 2024. He has played in four games with two assists since then.

The most recent appearance, in the CONCACAF Nations League, marked an important moment in Luna’s national career. With an assist and a late near-equalizer, the RSL star was a consensus top performer for the USA.

How To Watch Real Salt Lake

All Major League Soccer games are broadcasted on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.

All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2024 season and beyond will be carried on various KSL radio signals. KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) are both stations under the Bonneville International umbrella.

For more Real Salt Lake coverage and analysis, subscribe to The RSL Show and follow them on Instagram. 

You can find KSL Sports coverage of Real Salt Lake here.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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