There is always debate over how seriously US men’s national team friendly matches at this time of year should be taken. There is no official FIFA international window this month and so Gregg Berhalter has no choice to call up a group of largely domestic and Mexico-based players for ‘Camp Cupcake,’ as the January training camp is widely dubbed.
In ordinary circumstances, the USA’s 1-0 defeat to Slovenia last Saturday would have been cause for some concern. When everyone is available, the US has the talent to beat opposition of Slovenia’s calibre, but far from everyone was available as no fewer than 24 players between the two teams made their international debuts.
Diego Luna was one of those 24 players on the American side. There has been clamour for the Real Salt Lake attacking midfielder to be given an opportunity at senior international level and Saturday’s run-out against Slovenia presented Berhalter with a chance to integrate the 20-year-old into his team.
While the USMNT as a whole struggled to impose itself on the match, Luna caught the eye. He played 77 minutes and operated on the left side of the 4-2-3-1 formation, creating two good opportunities through his natural creativity. The 20-year-old certainly didn’t harm his chances of a future USMNT call-up on this basis.
“The whole camp was about the collective,” Berhalter said after the 1-0 defeat. “It was about, how do you take a group of guys that have never played together and try to put them together and get them organized enough that they can represent themselves on a field in a proper way? And I think that was accomplished.
“I thought Diego Luna was aggressive all game. The midfield, I think got into it more in the second half and ended up doing a good job…it was just about speed of play in the first half, the defensive transition moment that we had that gave up the goal wasn’t great. But overall, I’d say everyone had decent performances.”
The match against Slovenia might not have had much riding on it, but the pressure is on Berhalter to progress the USMNT with the 2024 Copa America approaching quickly and the 2026 World Cup on the horizon. If ‘Camp Cupcake’ was about experimentation, Berhalter must find the winning formula over the next few months.
Luna is the sort of player the USMNT has recently lacked. The 20-year-old is a player who can produce something out of nothing by getting in between the lines. The USA’s midfield has been its biggest strength under Berhalter, but many believe it could do with an injection of individual creativity to help take the team to the next level.
Of course, Gio Reyna is someone who could offer this. The Borussia Dortmund playmaker might be out of favour at club level, but he demonstrated his value to the USMNT in the second half of last year. In particular, Reyna’s relationship with Folarin Balogun in the centre forward position has been encouraging.
Djordje Mihailovic – now back in MLS with the Colorado Rapids after a disappointing stint at AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands – is another attacking midfielder who has been used by Berhalter to give the USMNT more individual creativity in the final third. The US head coach has options, but Luna might be the most intriguing.
Nobody knows how high Luna’s ceiling is. He was a standout for Real Salt Lake last season, scoring five league goals, and is widely expected to be part of the USA team that participates in the Paris Olympics this summer. Luna certainly has talent, but what level will he reach over the course of his career?
The 12 months will be crucial for Luna’s development. He must continue to show the quality that marked him out for RSL in 2023 and take every opportunity gets in a USA jersey, whether that’s in the senior squad or the squad for the Olympics. Competition is stiff for places and Luna must prove he’s on the same level as some of his new international teammates.
Some supporters still aren’t sold on Berhalter as US head coach, but the national team has undeniably come a long way under his control. Making the last 16 at the 2022 World Cup gave the US a platform to build on and now it’s about finding the players who can push the team even higher. Luna could be one of them.
