Diego Luna had one of his best games at club level on Saturday. Photograph: Real Salt Lake/MLS/Getty ImagesTwelve months ago, Diego Luna’s place on the US roster for the World Cup seemed as secure as anybody’s. He was an early favorite of Mauricio Pochettino, a player blending scrappy tenacity with a playmaker’s eye.

Seventeen of his 18 senior caps have come under Pochettino, most recently scoring his fourth goal for the US in their 5-1 blowout of Uruguay in November.Nonetheless, Luna finds himself on the bubble of making this summer’s 26-man squad. An ill-timed knee injury sidelined him for Real Salt Lake until their fourth game, and his comeback process left him unavailable for Pochettino’s final pre-tournament window in March. Even though the US struggled against Belgium and Portugal, Luna – like any World Cup hopeful on the fringes – had to restate his bona fides to ensure he’s in Pochettino’s plans.He has done so.

Luna was at his absolute best for Real Salt Lake on Saturday, taking it to visiting San Diego FC from the opening whistle. In the fourth minute, Luna crashed the box on a short restart between goalkeeper Duran Ferree and center-back Manu Duah, getting a foot on Ferree’s second pass to direct the ball into the net.In case you’re wondering, that chance carries an xG of 0.86, according to Fotmob.Related: MLS will have fewer US World Cup players than ever. Its impact is being felt anywayLuna seemed to relish in the nature of his opening goal, beaming while motioning with his palms pushing towards the ground as if to calm down any anxiety about his form for club and country.The 22-year-old continued to shine. .

Two minutes later, Luna collected a switch of play from Morgan Guilavogui and crossed it back into the box. Rookie striker Sergi Solans floated onto it and his header gave the hosts a 2-0 lead inside six minutes. A highly entertaining match finished 4-2, with Luna contributing a second assist on the final goal just before halftime.The strong showing couldn’t have come at a better time for Luna’s World Cup hopes.

This was his first game with multiple goal contributions since 2 July 2025, when he scored both goals in the US’s Gold Cup semi-final win over Guatemala. He hadn’t chipped in with multiple contributions for RSL since 24 May, a run of 17 appearances.Luna is one of a few players who could feel the knock-on impact of Patrick Agyemang’s achilles injury. The striker’s absence probably shifts Coventry forward Haji Wright’s projected fit from the wing to striker, which could open up another spot for an attacking midfielder or winger.

Malik Tillman and Weston McKennie project to start, putting Luna in most direct competition with Gio Reyna and Brenden Aaronson for one or two spots behind them.Pochettino said in March that he was “suffering in advance” thinking about his World Cup roster selection. This weekend, Luna made that suffering a little worse (in a good way).***The Crew can’t hold a leadIn the 100th minute of Columbus’ match in New England, Diego Rossi weaved toward the corner of the six-yard box. He squared the ball into prime territory for a first-time finish.

Nobody was there. The Revs kept the ball just long enough to seal a comeback 2-1 win against a favored Eastern Conference opponent.A late look like that seemed tailor-made for a star striker to pounce. Unfortunately, the Crew’s star forward Wessam Abou Ali suffered a torn ACL in their last match that will keep him sidelined for the rest of 2026, a blow for a team that was already struggling to support his early goal returns.Related: Michael Bradley’s Red Bulls are impressing in MLS – what could come next?

This is not the Crew of even a few years ago, when manager Wilfried Nancy was on his way to earning a midseason appointment at Celtic (however ill-fated) on the back of turning Columbus into a chance-generation juggernaut.Now led by Henrik Rydstöm, the Crew rank 21st in MLS in both expected goals (10.6, per American Soccer Analysis) and goal difference minus xG (-3.5) after eight games. It’s not as if the build-up is lacking – their average vertical pass distance of 3.98 yards is the league’s fourth-tightest, per ASA. That’s only behind chronic possession-havers San Diego, Inter Miami, and Colorado.While opposing midfields have their work cut out as they try containing the Crew, the same stress isn’t felt by goalkeepers.

Saturday’s loss saw Columbus go ahead early thanks to US international Max Arfsten, but they then took just one shot in the second half before stoppage time. New England flipped a one-goal deficit into a lead, and for a third time in just eight games, the Crew saw an early lead turn into defeat. No MLS team has dropped more points from leading positions than Columbus.“We were too passive with the ball,” Rydstrom said afterwards.

“It’s a mental aspect of the game that you have chased the ball a little bit without them creating, and then you want to rest when you have the ball. We can’t do that.”The Crew sank