ST. LOUIS — Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes, and the United States hung on to beat Guatemala, 2-1, on Wednesday night to reach its first CONCACAF Gold Cup final since 2021.
Luna put the U.S. ahead with a left-footed shot in the fourth minute, then scored with his right in the 15th for his third goal in two games.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino praised Luna for being being “desperate to play” for the national team.
“[His] attitude, hunger, desire, everything, and then for sure, the talent will appear,” Pochettino said. “But that is what we expect from our athletes, that’s what we want.”
Olger Escobar, an 18-year who was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, cut inside and slid a shot from inside the area between Matt Freese and the far post in the 80th for his second goal of the tournament. Freese parried José Morales’ shot toward the far post in the second minute of stoppage time.
“I think we handled it very well, I think that it’s an amazing experience,” Pochettino said. “I think this roster deserves massive, massive credit to arrive to the final. Now we need to prepare for the next game.”
The U.S. plays defending champion Mexico for the title Sunday at 4 p.m. PT at NRG Stadium in Houston, the Americans’ last competitive match before their World Cup opener next June. Mexico, which edged Honduras, 1-0, has won nine Gold Cups, the U.S. seven and Canada one.
The 16th-ranked Americans advanced to the Gold Cup final for the 13th time. All five losses in finals have been to Mexico.
The No. 106 Guatemala, which has never reached the final, outshot the Americans 13-1 in the last 30 minutes of the first half.
Luna got his first goal after Alex Freeman crossed for Malik Tillman. He touched the ball to Luca de la Torre, whose shot was spilled by goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro. Luna reacted quickly and switched the ball from his right foot to his left, then shot over Navarro’s outstretched right hand.
Eleven minutes later, Luna received cross-field pass from Tillman about 40 yards out, dribbled in, got by defender José Carlos Pinto with a stepover and put the ball inside the near post from the edge of the penalty area.
Luna, who now has three goals and two assists across five matches, was effusive in his praise for his U.S. teammates after the match.
“It’s the grit, it’s the determination that we’ve been lacking. To be honest, it’s fighting to the end. Every ball, every moment,” Luna said. “The game’s about moments, and I think this is where we showcase it.”
Guatemala’s starters included a pair of former U.S. players: 29-year-old forward Rubio Rubin made seven appearances for the Americans from 2014-18 before switching in 2022 and 28-year-old defender Aaron Herrera made one in 2021 and then changed in 2023.
Rubin put the ball past Freese in the 29th minute but the goal was disallowed for offside. Freese made a kick save on Rubin in the 34th.
POCHETTINO GETS TASTE OF HOME-FIELD DISADVANTAGE
Pochettino got a feel for what the national team still faces at times during home games: a crowd rooting for the opposition.
“It was like to play in Guatemala,” he said after the win. “That was good for our players because it was an atmosphere that we didn’t expect.”
A sellout crowd of 22,423 at Energizer Park energized Los Chapines.
“That is football,” Pochettino said. “When we say the connection in between the fans and the team, that is the connection that we’d like to see in the World Cup. That connection that makes you fly, because (of) the energy that translates.”
U.S. players are used to some home matches where the support is overwhelmingly for the opponent.
“We’re a country full of immigrants, so it was kind of expected for tonight,” defender Chris Richards said. “It was good for some of the younger guys to kind of experience that tonight, but for us experienced guys, we went through World Cup qualifiers with the exact same stuff, so I think that was a good lesson that the team needed to learn.”
An Argentine who played for his nation 20 times, Pochettino comes from a culture where soccer dominates life.
“I saw player of the Guatemala crying,” he said. “That is the way that we need to feel, and our fans need to feel the same. It’s not to come here and to enjoy f the spectacle and if you lose, nothing happens. Yes, it happens a lot. Things happen because you play for your pride, you play for many, many things that I think I cannot tell you tonight. But I think it’s good for our players. … I came from Argentina and in Argentina it’s not the same win or lose. The consequences are massive.”
“The rest of the opponents and the different countries,” he added, “you play for survival, you play for food, you play for pride, you play for many things. It’s not to go and enjoy and go home and laugh and that’s it.”
Luna has showed the hunger Pochettino wants. The 21-year-old impressed the coach when he continued playing with a broken nose during a January friendly against Costa Rica in which the Americans used a ‘B’ team after training sessions with mostly MLS players that some fans nicknamed Camp Cupcake. He’s become a regular in the Gold Cup and has three goals in his last two games.
“Diego was the example from January, how he is desperate to play for this shirt, for the national team and that is why now he is in the level that he showed,” Pochettino said.
Striker Patrick Agyemang also has emerged from January camp to gain a starting berth at the Gold Cup, where many regulars are absent.
“Sometimes you say it’s useless, people say it’s useless,” Pochettino said of the January camp. “It’s not useless. I think it’s important, important for the national team, important for the team and very important for the country.”
Luna said he enjoyed the atmosphere.
“I loved it. It was awesome, man,” he said. “That’s what every game should be like and I think that the Guatemalans should be very proud of the fan base that they have and the energy they bring.”
Defender Tim Ream, who captained the U.S. in his hometown, said positive results will grow the fan base.
“None of it’s going to happen unless we win, unless we continue to win,” he said. “For us, what’s the hallmark of a U.S. team? It’s fighting and togetherness. That’s what we’re finding and doing in this tournament. And it’s not always going to be perfect. It’s not going to always be pretty, but doing that fosters that connection with the fans, with the diehards, with the casuals, with everybody. And as long as we continue to do that, then that culture grows, the feelings grow, and the connections grow.”
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