Even with a broken nose, Luna was able to help lift the USMNT to an early lead as Americans cruised to 3-0 win
By the time he was taken out at halftime, Diego Luna's face looked like it had survived 15 rounds in the ring, not 45 minutes on the field. Face bloodied, nose plugged with cotton in both nostrils, and a clear wince on his face, Luna looked like he'd gone to battle. He had to change shirts at one point while wiping away the blood. On this night, Luna showed that he was ready to both perform and persevere.
It wasn't his physicality, though, that got him to the U.S. men's national team; it was his finesse. That, too, was easy to spot on Wednesday on a cold night in Florida. For all of the attention paid to Real Salt Lake rising star's bloodied face, it was his feet that did the talking - again., just moments after taking an elbow to the face, sparked the USMNT their opening goal in an eventual 3-0 win over Costa Rica.
He wasn't the only one, though. White, of course, did well for himself to score his first international goal. It's a moment he'll never forget, no doubt. He's scored plenty in MLS over the last few seasons, but this one will no doubt feel special. Caden Clark joined him, too, scoring a stunner to net his first international goal in the second half.
On the other side of the field, veteran goalkeeper Zack Steffen did everything he possibly could to preserve the clean sheet. The Colorado Rapids star made several big saves throughout, making something of a statement in a game in which he no doubt felt the pressure to perform., this was successful manner in which to close the January camp, especially with an MLS-heavy roster.
"The message from day one - and I think they listened - I told them from the very beginning they need to take these two games very seriously because if they perform, they will have the possibility to join us in the future," Pochettino said. "In the way they behaved, their attitude and performance, today we are very happy. You can bring different players and play in Europe, but these type of performances like today make us very positive for the future.
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