{"id":614,"date":"2025-07-03T17:15:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T17:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=614"},"modified":"2025-07-03T17:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T17:26:09","slug":"diego-luna-strikes-shaky-usmnt-to-win-over-guatemala-and-into-gold-cup-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=614","title":{"rendered":"Diego Luna strikes shaky USMNT to win over Guatemala, and into Gold Cup final"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ST. LOUIS \u2014 The U.S. men\u2019s national team is heading to the Gold Cup final, and from the fourth minute onward here at Energizer Park, that outcome was rarely in doubt.<\/p>\n

The USMNT raced out to an early 2-0 lead in Wednesday\u2019s semifinal, and ultimately beat Guatemala, FIFA\u2019s 106th-ranked team, 2-1.<\/p>\n

But for long stretches of the first half, it struggled. At the 45-minute mark, Guatemala had more Expected Goals, and more than twice as many shots.<\/p>\n

And over the final 15 minutes, after a Guatemala goal, amid raucous noise, the U.S. wobbled.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for the Americans, they had Diego Luna.<\/p>\n

Luna\u2019s meteoric rise \u2014 from the outside looking in at the under-23 Olympic roster to the full USMNT\u2019s starting lineup \u2014 continued Wednesday with a fourth-minute goal, then shot even further skyward with a 15th-minute banger.<\/p>\n

With the confidence and borderline cockiness that head coach Mauricio Pochettino loves, Luna dropped his shoulder, shimmied, deked into the box, and slammed his second goal of the match past Guatemalan goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro.<\/p>\n

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