Earlier this evening, the United States Men's Soccer Team was playing in an international friendly against Costa Rica.
Since Costa Rica is one of our traditional rivals, I was surprised by the friendly, but whatever.
So, as I worked on a separate article, I had the game on in the background. About halfway through the first half, the camera zoomed in on a player I had never seen before. The kid looked like he was on the wrong end of a car crash. Cotton shoved in his nostrils, blood on his face, and a red, swollen nose.
The first thing I thought was "dude, it's a friendly, you need to take a break." I looked up # 10 and it was Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna. Luna then set up the first goal with a picture-perfect pass on a crossing pattern.
Coincidentally, at ESPN:
Apparently, this is only Luna's third start for the USMNT. The heavily tattooed Luna stands only 5'3" but looks like an MMA Flyweight. Luna led the 16-7-11 Real Salt Lake squad to the playoffs this past season and was the team leader in assists. Luna was also among the team leaders in deep-dive analytical stats like Key Passes and Pass%.
As the United States went on to win 3-0, Luna's assist held up as he was substituted out at the half.
Why didn't he come out right away? 21-year-old Luna looks like a scrapper. If it's his dream to play for the USMNT, he took the first steps to earning his keeps tonight.
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