Gold Cup 2025: Diego Luna Brace helps USA past Guatemala, safe place in final

Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes, and the American national team of the American gentlemen held a 2-1 win over Guatemala in St. Louis on Wednesday to continue to the final of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Luna arrived in the fourth and 15th minutes before Olger Escobar made the score 2-1 in the 80th minute.

The American goalkeeper Matt Freese made five saves, including a diving stop at the left post on Joe Morales in the second minute of the second half of the stop time.

The US play Honduras or Mexico, who later play on Sunday, on Sunday in Houston.

Luna, a 5-foot-8 Real Salt Lake midfielder, scored his first American goal against Costa Rica on Sunday and leads the team in target contributions in 2025 with seven (three goals, four assists).

At the moment a year ago he became fake that he had not been selected in the American Olympic team for the Paris competitions.

Now he is a mainstay, at least for this iteration of a team that does not include the most European players. Yet Luna seems to make its way in the schedule for the World Cup 2026.

He opened the score with his quick response to restoring a long shot by Luca de la Torre. Goalkeeper Kennerson Navarro rumbled the ball directly to Luna, who brought him down with his right foot before he delivered a left -wing strike.

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Luna continued the Pro-Guatemala even further with his laser from 22 meters after taking a pass from Malik Tillman.

The desperate Guatemalans dominated the rest of half and surpassed the US 12-2 during the last 20 minutes.

Navarro was the story early in the second half when the US was looking for a third goal. First he parried a header by Patrick Agyemang in the 62nd minute, then Agyemang broke off two minutes later, but could not get the ball past the keeper.

The rescues turned out to be enormous when Escobar dribbled to the top of the box and slid a shot through different Americans.

This was the very first meeting of the nations in a Gold Cup Knock-Rondonde and Guatemala’s first performance in a semi-final of Gold Cup since 1996.