For weeks, an image of Diego Luna in the new U.S. men’s national team jersey has flashed on an electronic billboard outside of Madison Square Garden. Nearby in Manhattan, The Rooftop at Pier 17 is preparing for Tuesday’s showy roster announcement of the 2026 U.S. World Cup squad.

That roster was fully leaked on Saturday, however, and Luna’s name was nowhere to be found. Neither was teenage supernova Zavier Gozo’s, for that matter, as Real Salt Lake got the rain check from manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Twenty-six spots on the roster, and the player who was called up to every camp in Pochettino’s first full year at the helm in 2025 — and even earned a viral bit of praise from him — couldn’t snag one.

Snub Lake City

“It’s an interesting decision for me,” RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni said of Luna’s omission. “In 2025, the national team really leaned on him, both as an attacking player, but also a mentality piece. Pochettino referenced his ability to fight, and I just think that in the (World) Cup you need a difference maker who’s gonna come into a game where the stage will never be too big.”

Mastroeni also mentioned that it is not the first time the 22-year-old star has been an obvious snub, missing out on the 2024 Summer Olympics after helping the U.S. qualify for the Games by reaching the finals of the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.

Luna has not commented on the decision yet, after sitting out his second consecutive match against Minnesota on Saturday due to muscle tightness. The team doesn’t have another scheduled match until July 22, thanks to a league-wide summer break for the World Cup.

“Diego has been a guy that has consistently overcome difficult hurdles in his career, both on the field and off the field,” Mastroeni said. “I think he’s going to be a stronger player for this, and he’s got a great shot at the next (World Cup).”

Mastroeni sympathized with his young USMNT hopefuls, saying he remembered not being able to sleep “for weeks leading up” to roster announcements during his playing days. He admitted, however, that his impact on the national team was never “remotely close” to Luna’s over the last year or so, especially from a public standpoint.

In the three days leading up to the roster decisions being made, Luna was featured either solely or prominently in three posts on the official USMNT Instagram account. He was one of the primary models for the World Cup kit reveal and was often placed alongside attacking mainstays like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun in posters and graphics.

Luna was even included in the promotion of a special one-off issue from DC Comics featuring a USMNT crossover. If you’ve watched a soccer match, or even a sporting event, on U.S. television this year, odds are you’ve seen a Bank of America ad with Luna in his USMNT jersey.

All for naught. At least for now.

What now?

Luna and Gozo are both extremely young at 22 and 19 years old, respectively, and have years to go before even reaching their prime athletic years. Mastroeni was almost certainly correct in saying one or both will have “great shots” at a future World Cup roster.

As for the here and now, both have decisions to make regarding their immediate futures, with the European transfer window opening in July.

Both have expressed interest in playing abroad, and Gozo went so far as to say in April that he will “100%” make the move to Europe this summer if given the opportunity. RSL’s asking price has reportedly jumped up to north of $20 million for the Utah native, perhaps making those opportunities a bit more sparse.

Luna, on the other hand, has been linked with European clubs before, but has opted to stay close to home for the time being. That’s not to say that couldn’t change if he feels a move overseas could help his national team odds in the future.

A lot of things can happen between now and July 22, but the World Cup will not be one of those things for RSL’s two brightest stars.