51ºÚÁÏ

Guatemala’s fans may have outnumbered American fans at Energizer Park on Wednesday night, but that was no problem for the United States: Diego Luna outnumbered Guatemala.

The young midfielder, making just his 10th appearance for the U.S. men’s national team, scored twice in the first 15 minutes — his second and third international goals — as the United States spoiled upstart Guatemala’s trip to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and earned itself a trip to the final on Sunday in Houston with a 2-1 win before a sellout crowd (sold mostly to Guatemala fans) at Energizer Park.

Guatemala’s Olger Escobar scored in the 80th minute to amp up the pressure in the final minutes and give the team’s rabid fans even more to cheer about. U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese had to make a diving save in second-half stoppage time to preserve the win.

Luna is one of the players who has taken advantage of the Gold Cup and strengthened his case for a spot on the roster as the 2026 World Cup draws closer. His first goal showed his ability to be in the right place at the right time while the second showed his ability to take on opponents.

The Americans will face Mexico, a 2-1 winner in the other semifinal, played in Santa Clara, California. The championship game will be played on Sunday in Houston.

It was the 17th appearance for the United States in the regional championship and the 13th time it has advanced to the final. For Guatemala, it was just its second trip to the semifinals and first in 29 years. Guatemala has never reached the final.

Luna, who plays for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, made sure of that. Just four minutes in, a shot by Luca de la Torre was blocked, and the rebound came to Luna, who controlled the ball and fired it in from about 6 yards out.

He made it 2-0 in the 15th minute, taking a pass from Malik Tillman near midfield, dribbling through traffic to get to the top of the penalty area, where his shot went just inside the left post.

That may have slowed the Guatemalan fans but only a little. Guatemala had some chances, each of which brought roars from the crowd that dwarfed anything the U.S. team got, but the Americans held them off, either with saves by Freese or the defense forcing shots to go off target.

Guatemalan fans were out in force, seizing a rare opportunity to see their national team playing this deep into an international tournament. Having come from in some cases hundreds of miles away, they arrived at Energizer Park in the morning and stayed there all day. The streets around the stadium where jammed with fans wearing Guatemala jerseys and carrying Guatemala flags, lending an international flavor to the game that previous international games in 51ºÚÁÏ couldn’t match. The fan bases of recent visitors like Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were no match for the Guatemalans.

The last time a game of this much importance was played in 51ºÚÁÏ was in 1989, back when the Soccer Park in Fenton was considered a revolutionary building in soccer. In that game, the United States was closing in on qualifying for a spot in the 1990 World Cup but played to a 0-0 tie with El Salvador, which led to the U.S. needing a win its fateful final qualifier for that cycle in Trinidad and Tobago. (It won.)

Luna earned a spot in the hearts of the American fan base when he took an elbow to the nose in a match with Costa Rica in January and, despite playing with a broken nose with cotton stuffed up it to stop the bleeding, remained in the game and had an assist on the U.S. team’s first goal. At halftime, he left the game and went to the hospital.

Luna, who picked up a yellow card in the second half, was subbed out in the 77th minute. He at first got boos from the Guatemalan fans, but they soon changed to cheers as the American fans took over.

U.S. coach Maurico Pochettino went with the same lineup he used in the quarterfinals, which included St. Dominic High and 51ºÚÁÏ University product Tim Ream, who again was captain of the team.

Escobar scored from the top of the box, sliding the ball into the far corner of the net and just out of Freese’s reach.