Diego Luna is doing what he can to ensure he is on the plane to the World Cup this summer. The Real Salt Lake midfielder, long considered one of the more assured names in United States squad discussions, has spent recent weeks rebuilding his case after an injury set his season back at the worst possible moment.
As the Guardian's MLS weekend wrap reports, Luna had been among the earliest favourites of the national team manager, for whom he has won 17 of his 18 senior caps. His most recent international contribution was a goal — his fourth for the US — in a 5-1 victory over Uruguay in November, the sort of performance that once seemed to guarantee his place in a 26-man summer squad.
The situation has since become more complicated. A knee injury kept Luna out of Real Salt Lake's opening three fixtures, and the rehabilitation process meant he was unavailable for the manager's final pre-tournament window in March. The US struggled in that window against Belgium and Portugal, which did not create the clarity the coaching staff might have hoped for ahead of selection. For a player on the fringes of the squad, the absence from that camp nevertheless represented a missed opportunity to reinforce his credentials in person.
Luna now finds himself, according to the Guardian's account, firmly on the bubble — a player whose quality is not in doubt but whose recent visibility has been limited by circumstance rather than form. That distinction matters at tournament time, when selectors are asked to weigh potential against continuity and fitness history weighs heavily on every decision.
What Luna can control, he appears to be attending to. His return to club action with Real Salt Lake has given him the minutes he needs to demonstrate sharpness ahead of the final selection call, and the combination of tenacity and creative instinct the Guardian describes has always made him a useful option across multiple tactical shapes. Whether that proves sufficient in what is expected to be a competitive selection process among midfielders remains to be seen.
The World Cup begins this summer on home soil for the United States, which adds its own particular weight to every selection conversation. For Luna, the next few weeks of MLS football are unlikely to go unobserved.